By Lestyn
May 5 2004

Gareth Thomas was given the green light to sign for Toulouse last night, after the French club agreed to payout a lucrative compensation sum to the Warriors. Despite having two years remaining on his current contract with the Warriors, Thomas has sealed a move away from Wales to the South of France, where he will link up with his new club before next season.

Last ditch attempts by Leighton Samuel and regional partners the WRU proved fruitless in an attempt to persuade 74 times capped Thomas in Wales. An offer to match anything Toulouse could offer money wise was put forward, however the lure of a lifestyle change appears to have proved too difficult to resist.

"It wasn't about money," Samuel said. "I would have put together a financial package to match Toulouse's. David Moffett and myself both agree that we did all we could to keep Gareth in Wales.

"It was a lifestyle thing. Gareth feels he has two-to-three years left in him and wants to experience French rugby.

"Who can blame him? He has achieved everything in Welsh domestic rugby and I imagine Toulouse is a very nice place to live. Funding is an issue, though. Toulouse have a wage bill in the region of £3-4 million per year and we cannot compete with that in Wales."

Depending on whether or not he settles in France, the Warriors game against Cardiff on Friday could prove to be his final bow in Welsh domestic rugby, at the Brewery field where it all began for a player who at the moment is without doubt the most popular in Wales.

Should Thomas wish to return home, a clause in his contract at Toulouse, gives the Warriors first refusal on him.

"If he is not happy in Toulouse we have a clause in his contract that he will come straight back to the Warriors - I hope to see him around Christmas! Said Samuel

"As it is, Gareth will captain the side against the Blues on Friday and will play the rest of the season for us.

"He's irreplaceable as a person and a player, but we do have some fantastic talent at the Warriors in his position.

"Jon Bryant is about to commit to us until 2007, and we have very talented youngsters like David Bishop and Lee Thomas coming through."