The doors at the Highlanders got a workout yesterday but in the wash-up, winger Waisake Naholo is staying with the Highlanders for another year and Malakai Fekitoa has confirmed he is heading to French club Toulon after this season.
Fekitoa (25) had been rumoured to be heading for Toulon for weeks and he confirmed it on a social media post yesterday morning.
The 24-test All Black, who first played for the Highlanders in 2014, the year he made his All Black debut, has signed a two-year deal with the French club.
Fekitoa said it was hard to make the decision to leave the Highlanders.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark said it was disappointing to lose Fekitoa but completely understandable.
"The disappointing thing is he [Fekitoa] is only 25 years old and is nowhere near his peak, yet he is going overseas," he said.
"Malakai aspires to be the best athlete he can be and for him, that means being part of the All Blacks. He does not seem to be in the picture at the moment.
"But he is going away for a couple of years and could come back here, when he is only 27, as a better player."
Clark said from the conversations he had with Fekitoa, the bruising centre was really interested in returning to the Highlanders at the end of 2019.
Fekitoa was signed by the Highlanders as their 31st and last player for the 2014 season and would not have been signed by the franchise if it had been allowed to hold on to Tamati Ellison, who was playing in Japan.
Fekitoa made huge advances in that first year and made his debut for the All Blacks just a few months after making his Super Rugby debut.
But injuries and others coming along saw him slip down the pecking order. The offer of a couple of seasons in Toulon and guaranteed income was too good to turn down.
Clark was confident Fekitoa could be replaced. Midfielders of the calibre of Rob Thompson, Richard Buckman, Matt Faddes, Sio Tomkinson and Thomas Umaga-Jensen have all signed for next year.
Naholo announced yesterday he would stay at the Highlanders for another season.
Naholo (26) had been chased by the Chiefs to move north for next season, to join his provincial coach, Colin Cooper, in Hamilton and also be nearer family.But Naholo has decided to stay for another year in the South with the Highlanders.
The flying Fijian has been a fan favourite since joining the side in 2015 and has been an All Black for the past three years.
Clark said it was great to secure Naholo for another year. He was a popular figure in the South.
"A lot of work went into it but at the end of the day, Waisake had a real attachment to this place and the team and fans."