The biggest transfers in rugby union history
While football is embroiled in one of the biggest transfer sagas in its history concerning the future of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, this is an opportunity to look back at some of rugby’s biggest ever deals. While the game may not have had deals struck for hundreds of millions, that does not mean that there have not been some landmark moves in the 25-year professional history of rugby union.
Big moves abroad are more common now than they once were, shown most clearly after the 2019 Rugby World Cup where southern hemisphere players flocked to France, England and Japan, but there have always been marquee signings in all leagues.
So here are some of the biggest transfers in rugby union history:
Dan Carter – Crusaders to Perpignan
While Dan Carter’s move to Racing 92 in 2015 was huge in itself, and groundbreaking in terms of his salary, that was at the end of his All Blacks career. However, when Perpignan signed him in 2008 from the Crusaders, they were getting prime Carter in his pomp. A ruptured Achilles slashed through the fly-half’s six month stay in the south of France, but they still won the Top 14.
Jonah Lomu – Cardiff Blues
Any transfer involving arguably the most famous player to ever play rugby union is going to be huge, but Jonah Lomu’s move to the Cardiff Blues in 2005 signalled the return of an icon after a titanic battle with a kidney disorder, in which he had had a kidney transplant. His time in the Welsh capital was not as glittering as the rest of his career, but that does not diminish how huge the signing was in the first place.
Michael Lynagh – Benneton Treviso to Saracens
Saracens got the ball rolling in the professional era with the signing of Michael Lynagh and Philippe Sella in 1996, and Rugby World Cup winning captain Francois Pienaar followed a year later.
Sam Burgess – South Sydney Rabbitohs to Bath
Bath’s signing of Sam Burgess from the NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs fresh from a Grand Final triumph in 2014 shook both codes in Australia and England as a superstar of the game was crossing codes. His fallout and return to league was equally as notorious.
Jonny Wilkinson – Newcastle Falcons to Toulon
When the free-spending Toulon were starting to build their empire in the late 2000s, the signing of Jonny Wilkinson from Newcastle Falcons was one of the first signs that they meant serious business, and they went from strength to strength.
Christian Cullen – Hurricanes to Munster
Munster snapped up the All Blacks’ leading try scorer (since broken) Christian Cullen in 2003 from the Hurricanes when the fullback was only 27, taking advantage of his fall out with then head coach John Mitchell.
Zinzan Brooke – Blues to Harlequins
Another star name that moved to England during the early stages of professionalism, Zinzan Brooke joined Harlequins after his All Blacks career finished in 1997.
Beauden Barrett – Hurricanes to Blues
New Zealand rugby saw one of its biggest domestic switches ever in 2019, when Beauden Barrett decided not to move abroad, rather move from the Hurricanes to the Blues after the World Cup.
Julian Savea- Hurricanes to Toulon
A dip in form in 2017 and an exile from the All Blacks saw Julian Savea swiftly move abroad in 2018, with Toulon swooping for the winger. However, his relationship with owner Mourad Boudjellal was not always amicable.
Jason Robinson – Wigan Warriors to Sale Sharks
After a glittering career with Wigan Warriors in rugby league, Jason Robinson made the switch to Sale Sharks in 2000 and his collection of silverware only grew as the years passed. He had played briefly for Bath in 1996, but his signing by Sale would prove a permanent move to rugby union.
Sonny Bill Williams – Canterbury Bulldogs to Toulon
Every one of Sonny Bill Williams’ many transfers throughout his career have been monumental, but his shock exit from the NRL’s Canterbury Bulldogs sent shockwaves through the game of league. Although relatively unknown in rugby union, he joined Toulon in 2008 in what was the beginning of his journey in the fifteen man code.
George Gregan – Brumbies to Suntory Sungoliath
Though a move to Japan is now commonplace in the game, particularly for southern hemisphere players, George Gregan was one of the pioneers to make the move in 2008 when he joined Suntory Sungoliath, as was his longtime teammate Stephen Larkham, who joined the Ricoh Black Rams.
Danny Cipriani – Wasps to Melbourne Rebels
In 2010, after a chequered start to his career, the precocious 22-year-old Danny Cipriani signed for the Melbourne Rebels having left Wasps, and therefore made himself ineligible to play for England. This was one of the most high profile switches from northern the southern hemisphere the game has ever seen.
Johnny Sexton – Leinster to Racing 92
Ireland and Leinster fly-half Johnny Sexton signed a big-money deal to join the Top 14’s Racing 92 in 2013, which caught many in Ireland by surprise.
Charles Piutau – Ulster to Bristol Bears
After being crowned the Pro12 player of the year in 2017 while with Ulster, former All Black Charles Piutau signed for Championship outfit Bristol Bears for the 2018/19 season on a record-breaking salary. Since then, the Bears have added other star names such as Semi Radradra recently.
Lewis Moody – Leicester Tigers to Bath
Midway through the 2010 Six Nations, it was revealed that England captain Lewis Moody was ending his time with Leicester Tigers after 14 seasons and 217 appearances in order to join their long-standing rivals Bath, which does not get much bigger in English rugby.
Carlos Spencer – Blues to Northampton Saints
Few players have attracted as much attention in their careers as the pyrotechnical Carlos Spencer, so his move to the Northampton Saints in 2005 from the Blues obviously was well documented, and he didn’t disappoint at Franklin’s Gardens.
John Smit – Sharks to ASM Clermont Auvergne
Fresh from lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007, Springboks skipper John Smit made the move from the Sharks to ASM Clermont Auvergne, although it was a stay that did not last long.
Doug Howlett – Blues to Munster
After signing the All Blacks’ top try scorer in Cullen at the beginning of the decade, Munster added the man who broke his record in black, Doug Howlett, five years later. The winger won the Heineken Cup only months after joining, and would finish his career at Thomond Park.
Bryan Habana – Bulls to Stormers
Former World Rugby player of the year Bryan Habana relocated from the Bulls to the Stormers in 2010 having already won two Super Rugby titles in his career. This remains one of South Africa’s most famous domestic transfers.
George North – Ospreys to Northampton Saints
In April 2013, Northampton Saints announced the signing of George North from the Ospreys ahead of the 2013/14 season. This was not only a considerable signing for the Saints, but sparked a mass exodus of Welsh players.
Joey Carbery – Leinster to Munster
Though Joey Carbery is not necessarily a household name in world rugby, a move from Leinster to Munster is always significant, and his switch in 2018 was one of the most notable between the two provinces.
Manu Tuilagi – Leicester Tigers to Sale Sharks
Following a contract breakdown this year, England’s Manu Tuilagi brought an end to his eleven year Leicester Tigers career, switching allegiance to Sale Sharks, and the impact will be seen over the coming weeks.
Waisike Naholo – Highlanders to London Irish
When RugbyPass first broke the news that All Black winger Waisike Naholo was headed to London Irish, nobody quite believed it. In 2019 then Championship based club were Premiership bound and just at the beginning of notable spending spree. Naholo was maybe the biggest name to sign, a deal only rivalled by the capture of Sean O’Brien from Leinster a few weeks previously.
Honourable mentions:
Serge Betsen- Biarritz to Wasps
Louis Picamoles- Northampton Saints to Montpellier
George Ford- Leicester Tigers to Bath
Nick Evans- Blues to Harlequins
George Smith- Brumbies to Toulon
Matt Giteau- Brumbies to Toulon
Comments on RugbyPass
If rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
23 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
23 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to comments