Troubled Guildford ends time in France

KIWI winger Zac Guildford, who was part of the All Blacks World Cup-winning squad in 2011, has left French division two leaders Nevers for personal reasons.

The 29-year-old, who joined the ambitious ProD2 club last year, has turned out 10 times this season, scoring three tries.

“My time @usonneversrugby has come to an end”, Guildford said on Instagram.

“It’s not the way I wanted things to be but I’d like to thank everyone in Nevers for the support and opportunity, especially the president.

“So grateful for the understanding of the club that I need to be with my family at this time.”

The winger, capped 10 times by New Zealand between 2009-12, has fought alcohol problems throughout his career that arose after his father Robert died of a heart attack in 2009 while watching from the stands as Guildford and his New Zealand team-mates won the Junior World Cup in Tokyo.

It set off a descent from World Cup heroics in 2011 to serious alcohol problems and his eventual sacking from the Crusaders in 2014 following, among other things, a naked brawl in the Cook Islands.

Guildford, who most recently played Super Rugby in 2016 for the Waratahs, first went to France to join Clermont, but walked out of a contract with the Top 14 side in 2015 citing “personal reasons”.