Former Hurricane turned Wales international Willis Halaholo has shared emotional details of his contract situation that may force him to leave Wales after suffering a freak injury.
Auckland-born and raised Halaholo, who moved to Wales in 2016 to join the Cardiff Blues, hasn’t played since October and has been nursing a hamstring issue.
The midfielder was ready to return to action against Ulster this weekend but has been struck down with a series Achilles injury which will see him sidelined for up to a year.
Halaholo’s current contract with Cardiff expires in the summer meaning he will have to potentially find a new club while recovering from the injury.
The ex-pat Kiwi is devastated after he received an offer from Cardiff that ‘won’t even be enough to feed my family’.
He revealed that he also turned down offers last October to go overseas but felt he had more to offer Wales after being capped in 2021.
The 32-year-old expressed that he doesn’t know ‘how much more’ he can take as he faces dark times. He took to Twitter to share his story.
Don’t know how many more of this I can take. Worked so hard to get back for todays game and then a freak accident jus happens to my Achilles … dark times at the moment. Don’t know how to feel. https://t.co/WkpeZgL1SC
— Willis Halaholo (@whalaholo) March 4, 2023
The thread continued: “Then getting an offer that won’t even be enough to feed my family.
“Pay reduction I was willing [to take] because of the love I have for the club and also the the feeling of unfinished business in the red jersey knowing I haven’t been given that proper chance to show I can truly add.
“But I can’t accept an offer that can’t even feed my family on a month-to-month basis… regrets running through my mind as I turned offers to go abroad back in Oct in the hopes of still representing both jerseys.
“But now I’m hating myself because this situation we are in.
“The worst part is knowing my coach wants to keep me but the money doesn’t add up and would mean we would be stretched and struggle to provide for the kids.
“Not only that but now I have to wait and have hope that someone will pick up an injured player.”
Halaholo has played 91 times for Cardiff since joining seven years ago and debuted for Wales in 2021 after becoming eligible under the residency rules, but didn’t rule out a return to New Zealand as an option following this situation.
His story is just one of many as out-of-contract Cardiff players face uncertainty around their future amid major cost-cutting in Welsh rugby, but Halaholo’s injury puts him in a perilous position compared to others.
Cardiff Rugby is set to shed £2m in player salaries as they trim down to a £5.2m budget next season as squad sizes shrink from 46 to roughly 38.
