LEINSTER’S RABAH SLIMANI believes his impending move back to the Top 14 is the right fit for him at this juncture in his life and career, even if it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
After spending 15 years as a professional player in France at either Stade Français or Clermont Auvergne, Slimani joined forces with Leinster in the summer of 2024. He arrived in Dublin as a replacement for his fellow tighthead prop Michael Ala’alatoa, who had gone in the opposite direction to Clermont following a three-season stint at the eastern province.
He has proven to be a valued member of the Leinster set-up during his time on these shores and played his part off the bench when they defeated the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship Grand Final at Croke Park in June of last year.
His most recent appearance for Leinster was in a European Champions Cup semi-final in the Aviva Stadium last weekend against Toulon – just under a month on from the announcement that he will join the Top 14 outfit for the start of the 2026-27 club season.
“It’s not an easy decision, but last year I moved with my wife and my daughter and this year they stay in France. I think it’s a little bit difficult for my daughter and that’s why I prefer to go back to France, but I know I’ll not find another team like Leinster,” Slimani said at a Leinster media briefing in UCD earlier this week.
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“I think I’ll miss Leinster next year. I’m very happy to join Toulon because that’s a very big team. I know the coach. He’s a very good coach, but the atmosphere and to live in Dublin? That’s tough.”
Even though he will be bringing the curtain down on his time in Leinster for a return to his homeland, Slimani remains grateful for the opportunity that was afforded to him by the province’s head coach Leo Cullen almost two years ago.
Just a few months shy of his 35th birthday and without a senior international cap for France in almost five years, Slimani admitted to being uncertain about his future before he was approached by Leinster.
Jono Gibbes, a former forwards coach at the eastern province, had previously offered him a future avenue into coaching at Clermont, but the New Zealander’s dismissal from the Top 14 side in January 2023 altered those plans.
Yet just when it looked like he was at a crossroads in his rugby career, Slimani suddenly found himself a new employer.
“When Jono Gibbes is the Clermont coach, he signed me for three years. Two years for playing and one of coaching, but he’s fired after a year and a half. The new coach asked me if I want to play one more year, but on the last season in Clermont, they don’t propose me another year. I’m a little bit scared about my end of the season because I don’t have a club,” Slimani recalled.
“Just before the Champions Cup final, Leo called me. I’m very happy about that. I don’t believe my agent the first time when he say ‘Leinster called for you’. I said ‘are you sure!?’ When he sent me the message with the video call with Leo, I was like ‘oh yeah, it’s true, it’s real!’”
Despite facing stiff competition from Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson for the number 3 and 18 spots within Leinster match day squads, Slimani will hope to feature against Bordeaux Begles in the province’s forthcoming European Championship final in Bilbao on 23 May.
A two-time winner of the EPCR Challenge Cup (with Stade Français in 2017 and Clermont in 2019), it would round off his time at Leinster quite nicely if he was able to add a European top-tier crown to his list of career accolades. However, before potentially coming face-to-face with another French side in northern Spain, Slimani is focusing on this evening’s URC meeting with the Lions in the Aviva Stadium and a round 18 league showdown against Ospreys seven days from now.
Final
“I know the final is coming very quickly, but the focus now is the next two URC games. Against Lions, a very good team. Very strong this year. They are third on the table and we need to do a very good game,” Slimani added.
“First URC and after that Bordeaux, but I think we have a team to beat Bordeaux. An unbelievable team. Big pack, big backs, but us too. I think I don’t need to talk about Bordeaux. We need to believe in us.
“We have a good team. We play very well and we don’t need to just watch Bordeaux play. We need to put pressure on them. On the scrum, on the line-out and just play the Leinster game.”
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'I know I'll not find another team like Leinster'
LEINSTER’S RABAH SLIMANI believes his impending move back to the Top 14 is the right fit for him at this juncture in his life and career, even if it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
After spending 15 years as a professional player in France at either Stade Français or Clermont Auvergne, Slimani joined forces with Leinster in the summer of 2024. He arrived in Dublin as a replacement for his fellow tighthead prop Michael Ala’alatoa, who had gone in the opposite direction to Clermont following a three-season stint at the eastern province.
He has proven to be a valued member of the Leinster set-up during his time on these shores and played his part off the bench when they defeated the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship Grand Final at Croke Park in June of last year.
His most recent appearance for Leinster was in a European Champions Cup semi-final in the Aviva Stadium last weekend against Toulon – just under a month on from the announcement that he will join the Top 14 outfit for the start of the 2026-27 club season.
“It’s not an easy decision, but last year I moved with my wife and my daughter and this year they stay in France. I think it’s a little bit difficult for my daughter and that’s why I prefer to go back to France, but I know I’ll not find another team like Leinster,” Slimani said at a Leinster media briefing in UCD earlier this week.
“I think I’ll miss Leinster next year. I’m very happy to join Toulon because that’s a very big team. I know the coach. He’s a very good coach, but the atmosphere and to live in Dublin? That’s tough.”
Even though he will be bringing the curtain down on his time in Leinster for a return to his homeland, Slimani remains grateful for the opportunity that was afforded to him by the province’s head coach Leo Cullen almost two years ago.
Just a few months shy of his 35th birthday and without a senior international cap for France in almost five years, Slimani admitted to being uncertain about his future before he was approached by Leinster.
Jono Gibbes, a former forwards coach at the eastern province, had previously offered him a future avenue into coaching at Clermont, but the New Zealander’s dismissal from the Top 14 side in January 2023 altered those plans.
Yet just when it looked like he was at a crossroads in his rugby career, Slimani suddenly found himself a new employer.
“When Jono Gibbes is the Clermont coach, he signed me for three years. Two years for playing and one of coaching, but he’s fired after a year and a half. The new coach asked me if I want to play one more year, but on the last season in Clermont, they don’t propose me another year. I’m a little bit scared about my end of the season because I don’t have a club,” Slimani recalled.
“Just before the Champions Cup final, Leo called me. I’m very happy about that. I don’t believe my agent the first time when he say ‘Leinster called for you’. I said ‘are you sure!?’ When he sent me the message with the video call with Leo, I was like ‘oh yeah, it’s true, it’s real!’”
Despite facing stiff competition from Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson for the number 3 and 18 spots within Leinster match day squads, Slimani will hope to feature against Bordeaux Begles in the province’s forthcoming European Championship final in Bilbao on 23 May.
A two-time winner of the EPCR Challenge Cup (with Stade Français in 2017 and Clermont in 2019), it would round off his time at Leinster quite nicely if he was able to add a European top-tier crown to his list of career accolades. However, before potentially coming face-to-face with another French side in northern Spain, Slimani is focusing on this evening’s URC meeting with the Lions in the Aviva Stadium and a round 18 league showdown against Ospreys seven days from now.
Final
“I know the final is coming very quickly, but the focus now is the next two URC games. Against Lions, a very good team. Very strong this year. They are third on the table and we need to do a very good game,” Slimani added.
“First URC and after that Bordeaux, but I think we have a team to beat Bordeaux. An unbelievable team. Big pack, big backs, but us too. I think I don’t need to talk about Bordeaux. We need to believe in us.
“We have a good team. We play very well and we don’t need to just watch Bordeaux play. We need to put pressure on them. On the scrum, on the line-out and just play the Leinster game.”
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Leinster Rugby the hard yards