French club Pau said it has dismissed former All Blacks flyhalf Tom Taylor for leaving France in March without permission during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Taylor, who played three tests for the All Blacks in 2013, left France on March 17 despite being asked to remain in the country in case the Top 14 league resumed at short notice, the club said in a statement on their website.
"The club had no other recourse than to initiate a dismissal procedure against Mr. Tom Taylor," the club said.
Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.
French rugby officials abandoned the 2019/20 season last week.
Taylor, the son of former All Blacks inside centre Warwick, was called into the national side in 2013 when fellow flyhalves Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden were all injured.
He left New Zealand in 2015 and joined Toulon before heading to Pau in 2016.
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
