Méla signs for Brive
France international lock Arnaud Méla has signed a three year deal with Brive and will leave relegation candidates Albi at the end of the season.
France international lock Arnaud Méla has signed a three year deal with Brive and will leave relegation candidates Albi at the end of the season.
The deal has been a been on the cards for weeks, but it was officially announced on Wednesday that Méla will leave his struggling club in search of new challenges.
Standing 1,97 m tall and weighing 115 kg the big lock made his debut for France in the recent Six Nations tournament.
Méla was recruited from Tours by Albi coach Eric Béchu when the club was still in the French Pro D2, and was a vital cog in the machine that took the club into France's top division, scoring six tries in 29 matches.
Despite his reputation for having a short fuse (he was shown eleven yellow cards in the last two seasons), Marc Lièvremont brought him into the French national side where he made his debut against Ireland in February.
Albi have been in grave economic trouble for some time now, but Méla has remained loyal, despite the interest of various clubs in his services.
“My priorities lie with Albi, on condition that they sort out their financial problems. The also need a real plan for the future.” Méla told lesite in early March.
“We've had five difficult years. It's difficult to always be struggling against relegation.”
Albi are currently 12th in the Top 14 and Méla is now looking to join a club with higher ambitions. He will now join Brive, who are eleventh and only two points ahead of Albi, but who have big plans for the future.
The international lock has also been a target of Castres who are trying to build a strong team, but it was Brive manager Laurent Seigne who managed to twist his arm.
“I've been in contact with Laurent Seigne for a few months now, ” the player said on the Brive website.
“There is a real will to reconstruct the team. We spoke about the finer points of the project which helped me make my decision. I'll benefit at the end of my career.”
Other Albi players might soon follow suit. Thomas Sanchou is in contact with Castres, Philippe Guicherd is talking to Pau and Yohan Misse could join Bayonne.