In the squad of Racing Club Narbonnais, one player is still missing, the second and third international row Lopeti Timani. And the Aude club will still have to wait before knowing whether it will be able to welcome him or not.
The big question. The great uncertainty, too. Because on June 20, the Aude club formalized the arrival of the Tongan and Australian international, Lopeti Timani. But the RCN did not think that several months later, the second and third row would not yet have set foot on the lawn of the Sports Park. The former Toulon player is in fact not yet a Racing player. The reason is clear, the youngest of the Timani siblings is waiting for his visa and its delivery by the French administration.
According to our information, Lopeti Timani’s request was initially refused. But the player with 16 international selections appealed this decision and asserted his rights to try to change things and receive this document. And therefore to finally arrive at Racing. We will therefore have to wait again, perhaps the middle of October, to find out if this high-level player will be able to wear the orange and black jersey.
Reasons for visa refusal quite unclear
Racing has, for the moment, not wished to comment or give any explanations regarding this matter. The big question remains why Lopeti Timani’s visa application has not yet been validated by the French administration. Is this the case dating from June 2020 when the player was playing in La Rochelle and he was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for throwing a bottle in a nightclub, then a fine? tort of €10,000? Or have other more recent cases emerged?
For the president of the Aude club Xavier Marco, the situation is clear, while French rugby has been experiencing tragic and very delicate stories for several weeks: “We recently held an internal conference for the prevention of alcohol and drugs. With the presence of the gendarmerie. I hope that in Narbonne, there is no question of drugs, especially with all this that we hear. If there is one who takes it he will be fired. I am obliged to take the lead, but I never thought I would have to say that to my players.
If Narbonne is still waiting to know if Lopeti Timani will have the possibility of one day becoming a Racing player, the trio of coaches are working in parallel on a plan B. If it is not the Tongan colossus who arrives, Julien Seron and his assistants hope to recruit a player of the same profile, a second or third line puncher, powerful.
But while waiting to get the final word on the Timani affair, Racing is armed, especially in the third line. In the second row, Leva Fifita suffers from a serious knee injury and had around ten stitches removed this Monday. When this post records the return of Dennis Visser, absent since the friendly match in Béziers in mid-August. Good news before traveling to Savoie to face a Chambéry team in great form.
