French club Toulon has confirmed that Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe has left the club three months before South Africa begin their World Cup title defence.

“Rugby Club Toulonnais and Cheslin Kolbe have mutually agreed to release each other from their commitments at the end of the 2022-2023 season. This allows Cheslin Kolbe to commit to a new project from the 2023-2024 season,” said the club in a statement.

The 29-year-old player moved from Top 14 rival Toulouse to Toulon in 2021. He scored six tries in 18 games this season, even though he was out for a month with an ankle sprain.

“I would have liked to have stayed at Toulon, but the financial constraints on clubs and injuries made things difficult,” Kolbe said on the club website.

His contract was up in a year. French rugby media have been saying for a few months that clubs in Japan are interested in him.

The 1.71-meter (5-foot-7) speedster has had trouble with injuries, but he played fullback when Toulon beat Glasgow in the European Challenge Cup final on May 17.

Kolbe was back on the wing on Sunday, the last day of the Top 14 season, when Toulon beat Bordeaux-Begles but didn’t make it to the playoffs.

Kolbe will be honoured at an end-of-season garden party on Monday and Tuesday, the club said.

Photo by Luca Sighinolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix