Ihaia West to leave La Rochelle

Former Maori All Black flyhalf Ihaia West is set to leave La Rochelle at the end of the 2020/21 season.

According to a report by Midi Olympique, West will leave La Rochelle at the end of the current season but his time in France may not be completely over with a number of TOP 14 clubs interested in his services.

West joined the TOP 14 club in 2019 following his stint at the Hurricanes in 2018 having also played for the Blues in Super Rugby. 

The former New Zealand u20 has reportedly caught the interest of Clermont and Lyon with the latter continuing their search for a first choice pivot while the latter look to add cover for Camille Lopez.

Sources have told Midi Olympique that Montpellier are also keen to bring the New Zealander on board to compensate the departures of Johan Goosen and Alex Lozowski. Goosen is set to join Jake White's Bulls in Pretoria with the move set to be confirmed in the coming days while Lozowski is set to return to Saracens after his one-season loan deal.

West has featured in eight of La Rochelle's 15 games across the Champions Cup and TOP14 with Jules Plisson currently producing some of his best form of his career under the coaching of Jono Gibbes and Ronan O'Gara.