Gloucester and England backrow Zach Mercer will immediately depart the Premiership club, having agreed on a move to Top 14 powerhouse Toulon.
First reported by Gloucestershire Live earlier today, the news of Mercer’s move will come as blow to the Cherry and Whites as they look to bounce back from a disappointing Premiership campaign last season.
Mercer, who has previously starred in the Top 14 in a potent Montpellier pack, will join the former European Champions ahead of their round-one clash with La Rochelle next weekend.
In order to link up with Toulon, it is reported that the French club bought Mercer out of the final two years of his four-year contract.
Whilst the news surprises many, the 27-year-old who returned to the Premiership with ambitions of playing for England has been consistently overlooked by head coach Steve Borthwick.
Discussing his continued international snubbing back in May, Mercer said, “I have not spoken to Steve since then,” he said. “We had some really good honest – and tough – conversations. I said where I was at and what I thought, obviously he did too. That’s the last time we spoke.
“I know I’m in contention to go on the tour this summer, I also know there are no guarantees in life. I came back and was very vocal and honest about why I was doing it, to fight for the England jersey. Obviously that didn’t happen.
“I never thought I was guaranteed that jersey. Would I have liked more time and opportunity to try and prove myself? Yes, but that’s what I’ve done since, so we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
Prior to this interview, Mercer and Borthwick were at odds with each other in the media when the backrow vented his frustrations at continually being overlooked.
“I’m done for the time being with that and I’m just going to focus on Gloucester. To come back and get given three weeks in a training camp and that was it, I was really disappointed with that,” said Mercer. “I’ve been open with Steve, I’ve told him my opinions on it. I thought I haven’t really been given a crack which is what I feel like, to not even be given a game to try and prove myself is tough.” Mercer said in January.
Returning fire, Borthwick was asked about Mercer in February and responded by saying, “Zach and I had a conversation last week. We’ve had a number of conversations over the last couple of weeks with Zach since he’s come back from injury.
“We’ve highlighted areas where players have done well and the areas where they bring a point of difference. It’s a competitive arena.
“And [we highlight] areas where we want them to develop them and add to their game. That’s the same conversation I had with Zach.
“When I’m talking to a player, I’m basing it in objectivity. I’m basing it on targets for them to go after, and then we can shape a shared understanding of what we’re seeing.
“Granted, sometimes as a coach you want something specific in a team, I’m always looking at all the coaches and all the players that are able to provide that.”
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