CauCau quits France

Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca on Thursday cut short his troubled stay with French second division side Agen and was allowed to quit, five months before the end of his contract.

The 27-year-old, whose exciting try-scoring performances were interspersed by fitness and disciplinary problems, suffered knee and calf injuries recently which restricted him to just three appearances this season.

In one of those games, he scored three tries in the 33-0 defeat of cash-rich league leaders Toulon in December.

His drop in form in 2007 also contributed to him being overlooked for the World Cup where Fiji reached the quarter-finals.

“I am not at my best level and I cannot help the club as much as I would like,” Caucau told the Agen website.

“The club officials have understood my wishes to go home and rebuild my professional career.” Agen chief executive Laurent Lubrano said the development was a blow to the team.

“He came to see me and said that he was suffering the calf injury more and more. He asked to be allowed to leave and the technical staff agreed,” said Lubrano.

“Rupeni was our deadly weapon – when he played.” Caucaunibuca, who was the Top 14’s top scorer three years ago, has caused a series of headaches at the club since signing for Agen midway through the 2004-2005 season.

He failed to report for pre-season training and arrived three months late last season overweight and clearly out of form.

He then tested positive for cannabis after a match in March and was suspended for three months.

Sapa-AFP – Rugbyweek.com