‘Appealing’ French move proves too tempting for Leinster star

Leinster prop Michael Ala’alatoa has officially confirmed that he will depart the Irish province to join Top 14 outfit Clermont Auvergne next season.

There has been much speculation over the Samoan international’s future at Leinster, but he has now confirmed that it is away from Dublin.

Ala’alatoa to leave Leinster

In November, French publication L’Equipe reported that Clermont was keen to add the tighthead to their ranks, and while the club are yet to unveil the signing of the 32-year-old officially, he is understood to have signed a two-year deal.

Ala’alatoa has been a mainstay in the Leinster starting line-up since joining the side from Super Rugby giants the Crusaders in 2021, where he won four Super Rugby titles. He has since gone on to play 53 times for Leinster, scoring five tries.

The veteran front-rower revealed that he would leave Leinster during a press conference on Tuesday.

“I have committed to Clermont, but my focus is still here [Leinster] for this season and putting everything in here,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity that’s come up over the last few months, and I have mixed feelings because I love it here; I love this team, but the opportunity to play in France was an appealing one and one I had to consider. I’m looking forward to next year.”

Far from an easy decision

He explained that his age and family were among the key factors when deciding to leave the team that he is so affectionate about.

“It was far from an easy decision, but I’m not young anymore, and I had to think about my family and to put my family first,” he said.

“Home is so far away, so there were a lot of things I had to think about, and of course, the quality of this team; there are not many teams like this. To decide to leave was tough, and I’ve tried to avoid thinking about it for now because I just want to be dialled in on what we’re doing now and worry about the emotional side of it later.”

The number of Pacific Islander players plying their trade in France also factored into Ala’alatoa’s thinking, but there is one aspect of the Top 14 that he is not looking forward to.

“Just talking to some of the boys, there’s a lot more Samoans and Pacific Islanders there [France], so it would be good to connect with a lot of those boys off the field,” he added.

“I guess the rugby is something I’m looking forward to around the forward play and that sort of thing, and the grind of playing 40 games a year! I’ve mixed feelings about that, but yeah.”

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