A chaotic 14 months of violence on and off the pitch has ended with Saracens cutting ties with young talent Totoa Auvaa.
Saracens have run out of patience. Totoa Auvaa has been sacked by the club after a turbulent 14 months in which two red cards and two punch-ups turned a promising start into a career crisis.
The young Samoan arrived with plenty of buzz around his potential. Instead of building on it, he became a recurring disciplinary headache. The trouble came both on the pitch and away from it, and the pattern was too serious for the club to keep overlooking.
In elite rugby, discipline is currency. A red card leaves your team a man down and wrecks a game plan. Off-field violence is a different problem, because it hits a club's culture and reputation. Saracens clearly decided that the cost of keeping Auvaa had grown too high.
The sacking is a heavy blow for a player so early in his career. Whether he can rebuild will depend on how he responds, and on whether another club is willing to give him a fresh start. The talent drew the attention in the first place, but he now has to show he can keep his temper in check.
