Ihaia West

West will join Rugby Club Toulonnais next season and “will wear the red and black jersey until 2025”, the club have said in a statement.

“Ihaia West will no doubt want to win a trophy with the RCT he has signed up with for the next three seasons,” said Toulon in a statement.

After starting his career with Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand, West made a name for himself during stints with the Auckland Blues and then the Hurricanes. Between the two sides he took part in five seasons of Super Rugby before heading to Europe.

West suffered an ankle injury after coming off the bench in the scrappy Blues win over the Force at Eden Park last Saturday, and could now be sidelined for at least a month.

With young Taranaki first five-eighth Stephen Perofeta also battling an ankle complaint, the Blues are likely to persist with Piers Francis at No 10 and include Gatland as cover on the bench for Friday night's clash with the Highlanders in Dunedin. 

West lost his starting role to Francis but has shown spark off the bench, injecting his attacking skills late as the Blues secured successive wins.