All Blacks five-eighth Aaron Cruden will pack his bags and head to Montpellier for the 2017/18 Top 14 season, according to reports from France.
The 28-year-old, who also co-captains Super Rugby side the Chiefs, endured a frustrating 2016 in the black jumper, losing New Zealand’s No.10 shirt to livewire Beauden Barrett.
Yet despite being relegated to a bench role, New Zealand Rugby have pulled out all the stops to keep Cruden on the Shaky Isles and publicly asked him to stay.
The 47-cap Palmerston North native has just a year to run on his contract and received a final offer from NZ Rugby in December.
But it seems Cruden has decided to turn it down, with Montpellier-based newspaper Midi Libre reporting he has signed a lucrative two-year deal.
New Zealand’s NZME also reportedly confirmed the move with Montpellier president Mohed Altrad on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
An announcement is expected later on Wednesday.
He’ll reportedly earn almost $1.14 million per year and work under the tutelage of new Les Cistes boss and compatriot Vern Cotter.
Cotter takes over at the Top 14 club in June, having coached Scotland for the past three Test campaigns, including the 2015 World Cup.
NZ Rugby boss Steve Tew said last month that off-contract stalwarts such as Cruden, Ben Smith and Israel Dagg were still needed within the Test set-up.
But he acknowledged that the union couldn’t compete with the megabucks on offer in European rugby, particularly France and Ireland.
“They all know we love them to death and we’d love them to stay, but they’ve got to make their decision,” Tew said.
“We continue to work really hard to create great environments for our players.”
If the reports are accurate, Cruden will likely make his All Blacks swan song in June and July’s British and Irish Lions tour.
He’ll go with plenty of accolades to his name, including the 2011 World Cup, two Super Rugby titles and five Rugby Championships.
Yet despite the trophy haul, coach Steve Hansen said at the end of November’s northern tour that Cruden’s story in the black jumper wasn’t yet complete.
He urged the playmaker, who has scored 322 Test points, to stay.
