Clermont - New
Zealand centre Benson Stanley said on Thursday he will quit Top 14 outfit
Clermont at the end of the season after electing not to take up an
option for a fifth year in France.
"If I want to carry on playing it will not be here," the Sports
Auvergne media portal quoted the 32-year-old, who has three
international caps with the All Blacks, as saying.
The Australian-born Stanley came to the club in 2012 and his
four-year deal runs out at the end of this campaign, albeit he had the
option of agreeing a one-year extension.
Clermont, leading the way in Top 14 this season and on the verge of a
European Cup quarter-finals berth, have already seen former All Blacks
wing Hosea Gear join Lyon on a short term deal after the 32-year-old
failed to hold down a regular place in the side.
Lyon want Gear to make up for the absence of injured quartet Franck
Romanet, Pacific Islander Napolioni Nalaga, Henry Clunies-Ross and
Fijian Jone Tuva.