I still don’t think he’s ready for the move. Hasn’t really shone in the islands. Don’t forget Tuiloma was in France in L1 but hardly played.
Old can be explosive on his day, and there is that old maxim "you can't coach pace". Definitely he has work ons, but how do we know for sure the coaches at a Ligue 1 club, can't help him work on them as much as the Nix staff. He is certainly now a more physical player, not flopping over at the merest hard contact.
He came down from Akld to Welly 6 years ago, maybe he just feels for him it's the right time for a move. Wants a new challenge. The Nix will get a healthy fee, and have the likes of OVH and GSR to step up to try fill his spot. That's the club's model after all.
Billy T went to France around age 18, with no prior pro experience. The Nix pathway, via the Academy prepares these young guys very well now for Europe. It's in the club's best interests to do so.