Goromaru set for Toulon switch: reports

Queensland Reds recruit Ayumu Goromaru will reportedly play just one season of Super Rugby before switching to French glamour club Toulon next year.

French TV station Canal Plus says the Japanese fullback has agreed to a one-year contract with the reigning European champions, which includes the option for a second season.

A spokesperson for the Reds was not immediately available for comment but Queensland have only signed Goromaru for the 2016 campaign.

The 29-year-old shot to fame during last year’s World Cup and became a Japanese cult hero for spearheading the national team’s incredible run at the tournament, which included a shock win over South Africa.

A French newspaper last week named him as the world’s highest-paid rugby player, claiming he is earning a staggering 200,000 euros ($A315,000) per month, mostly from sponsorships and endorsements.

Linking up with Toulon’s eccentric billionaire owner Mourad Boudjellal, unafraid to splash the cash in his efforts to draw top-class players to the Top 14 club, would further cement Goromaru’s position on rugby’s rich list.

It comes after the Reds confirmed reigning club best and fairest Liam Gill is also off to France next year.

Toulon is understood to be Gill’s destination, but the fringe Wallabies flanker has told teammates he wants to return to Ballymore one day before the end of his career.

Former Queensland players Quade Cooper, James O’Connor and Drew Mitchell, as well as Wallabies centre Matt Giteau, are also contracted to Toulon.

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