Jack Nowell his nearing a move to he European champions once his contract with Exeter Chiefs concludes at the end of the season.
The Chiefs have acknowledged their inability to retain the services of the Cornishman at Sandy Park for the upcoming season and have come to terms with the fact that he will join the roster of significant players departing the club in the last two years.
Rob Baxter recently held negotiations with Nowell in an attempt to reach an agreement, but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
According to The Rugby Paper, he will now move to La Rochelle, where he will work under Ireland legend Ronan O’Gara.
Baxter has now admitted he is planning for life without the Lions wing.
‘I’ve got to plan that Jack Nowell won’t be here because that’s the current situation,’ said Rob Baxter.
“The agreement we’ve got is that if I find a replacement player who I like the look of, we are going to sign them. Jack is aware of that. He is currently looking in the market.
“If he comes back to me prior to us signing anybody, we can talk. If he comes back after we sign someone who has replaced him and the salary-cap room is not there, then it’s not there. It is a very open scenario.
“I am assuming he is not here and I think he is assuming he’s going.”
DID YOU KNOW? Jack Nowell was originally a product of the Cornish Pirates junior section
#1. Sam Simmonds to Montpellier
The number 8 has already confirmed this will be his final season with the Chiefs as a move to Top 14 heavyweights Montpellier has already been agreed.
“I knew that that decision of playing abroad, you wouldn’t be able to be selected for England, but for me I felt like I’m focused on the here and now,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I feel like I can still have such an effect in an England shirt, such an effect in an Exeter Chiefs shirt for the next 12 months now, and I think I’m at peace with that decision.
“There’s plenty of players that are going to be coming up behind me and I felt that it was the right time to make a decision for after the World Cup to pursue a new life in France, and for my family and for me to experience that because I have loved my time at Exeter, but I haven’t experienced anything outside of Devon,” he added.
“I feel it was the right decision at the right time and we’ll see how it goes.
“We’ve seen what’s happened recently with clubs unfortunately in England, so it’s a decision I’ve thought about a lot, but ultimately felt like I needed to make that decision.”
