Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea has responded to damning criticism from the owner of his French rugby club.
According to French publication RMC Sport, Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal made some explosive comments about Savea following the side's 19-10 Top 14 defeat to Agen last week.
"I'm going to ask for a DNA test. They must have swapped him on the plane [when he joined from the Hurricanes last year]. If I were him I would apologise and go back to my home country," Mourad Boudjellal told French radio RMC.
"I've told him that he was free to go and wasn't welcome at Toulon any more," he added.
Savea responded via social media today with a post on Twitter.
Putting all the negativity behind me and heading into this week with a positive attitude🤘🏾whether I am welcomed or not I am still contracted to my team and I will continue to train week in and week out with my brothers #endofstory#letsmoveonpic.twitter.com/y7QBqLOyVV
"Heading into this week with a positive attitude, whether I am welcomed or not I am still contracted to my team and I will continue to train week in and week out with my brothers #endofstory #letsmoveon," the winger posted.
Savea's brother and fellow All Black, Ardie, retweeted the post in support.
Ardie also hailed his support for a tweet made by former Australian rugby union player Drew Mitchell, who called out Boudjellal's comments.
"This type of carry on from [Boudjellal] won't exactly entice other players to play for [Toulon]. Business or not you just don't treat ppl [sic] like this," Mitchell wrote.
Earlier, Savea's wife Fatima hit back at Toulon fans on social media following vile comments.
Toulon fans took to social media with abusive comments directed at Savea, labelling him a "fatman" with breasts bigger than his wife and saying they wished his mother got cancer.
Fatima responded, saying she was "absolutely disgusted by this s***" on Twitter.
"Take a minute to think about how your words can affect someone's life and their mental health," she tweeted.
"And people wonder why mental health in rugby had become a big problem. Take a minute to be considerate of people's feelings instead of bashing them behind a keyboard or phone screen.
"With rugby you are only as good as your team is. It's not an individual sport it's a team sport and sometimes you can be let down by your team.
"But that shouldn't give anyone the right to ridicule a player and their livelihood because no one knows what these players go through on a daily basis and the struggles they face.".
Boudjellal has a history making controversial statements. In 2017 he praised Ali Williams' negotiation skills after he was caught buying cocaine in Paris while last year he defended Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud's use of a homophobic slur in a match because it had 'entered common language'.
The 28-year-old, who scored 46 tries in 54 tests for the All Blacks, signed a four-year deal with New Zealand Rugby in May 2015 that made him one of the highest paid players in New Zealand history, earning an estimated $800,000 a year.
However he was released from that deal last year following the Super Rugby season after agreeing a two-year deal with Toulon.
A Toulon statement said on confirming his arrival last year: "This is one of the stars of world rugby that joins the Rugby Club Toulonnais for the next two seasons.
"Equipped with an exceptional physique (1,91m for 108kg), Julian Savea is also a fast player, able to overflow, to win one-on-one duels, to catch high balls and to play after him.
"A complete player who can also evolve at the center position and further improve the line of three-quarters of the RCT."
However Savea has scored just one try in 10 matches since joining the club. Toulon currently sit 11th on the table with six wins from their opening 16 games.
Savea's former Hurricanes teammate Nehe Milner-Skudder looks set to replace him at Toulon next season having signed a three-year deal.
"Some players are average because they want to leave and others because they have a cheque to take, and they can not find a better cheque elsewhere. Many will be released," Boudjellal told RMC Sport.
Tough match over the weekend with the brothers. Now it’s time to refresh the body over the next week off rugby, train hard and mentally prepare for the rest of the season. Thanks for all the support 🤟🏾🤟🏾 #RCTpic.twitter.com/SCKCr1wgVH
"A one-year contract, he can do what he wants, it can be long for the club a year but especially very long for the player ... for me, he is released," Boudjellal said about Savea.
"His brother looks a lot like him ... we will have at least learned that some physical resemblances are really striking," he added in what seems to be a comparison between Julian Savea and his All Black brother Ardie.
"Before Julian signed his contract he asked for time off in December to attend his ONLY brother's wedding. So this was agreed upon by both the club and Julian or else Julian would not have come to Toulon in September and instead in January."
