Irae Simone is unlikely to line up in an ACT Brumbies jersey next year, as it's rumoured he has signed a contract with a French club.
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French news outlets are reporting the 26-year-old has signed with Top 14 side Clermont for 2023.
The Brumbies centre is off contract for the Super Rugby side at the end of the 2022 season, and told The Canberra Times last month "a lot of options" were on the table for his next move.
Brumbies HQ did not wish to comment on the signing rumours of their 50-cap player, but the move makes sense for the Test-capped Wallaby.
He donned his first green and gold jersey back in 2020, and played two Tests, but has since been unable to break back into Dave Rennie's Wallabies side. Although he has been impressive in the Pacific season, Sami Kerevi has a stranglehold on Australia's number 12 jersey.
Eyes will be on the inside centre come round eight against Fijian Drua, as the Brumbies look to bounce back from their 21-7 loss to the Queensland Reds.
Simone has put in full 80 minute efforts since round four and will be an important player in the team's journey back to their undefeated form.
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But the side's preparation for Saturday's match has been hindered by a Wallabies camp, with 15 Brumbies chosen to head to the Gold Coast this week.
Lock Tom Hooper admitted it was difficult not having them at training after the loss but they were preparing as best they could for whatever Drua threw at them.
"We know that they'll be working hard," he said on the Brumbies in the national camp.
"So we've got to bounce back after a performance like that and make sure that we get our game running heading into the New Zealand teams.
"We had a lot of handling errors and need a bit of discipline around that ruck area. We knew they had threats going into and we probably didn't nullify those threats early on.
"We went out our best but we know what areas we need to address to be better against the Drua."
After earning his starting debut in round four, Hooper wants to make as much as an impact off the bench as he can in coming weeks to make it hard for Dan McKellar to make a choice between himself and the other locks.
Outside of the locks, McKellar's fullback options are becoming slimmer each week due to injury, and he has a limited choice come Saturday against Drua. As Tom Banks' fullback replacement Jesse Mogg will learn the full extent of the damage to his knee on Wednesday.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
