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Flanker Rob Valetini, prop Angus Bell and halfback Tate McDermott also have options in their contracts to skip Super Rugby in 2026.
Sources with knowledge of the market said Valetini and Bell, at least, have suitors in Japan’s League One competition and are likely to exercise the option.
While the absence of four major Australian stars for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season is a blow to the competition’s marketability and integrity, Rugby Australia – and even New Zealand rugby – have been increasingly open to striking deals with sabbaticals inserted, for several reasons.
Len Ikitau scores during the big victory over Wales.Credit: AP
They are seen as a way to ensure a player is not lost entirely to foreign clubs offering superior money, and can allow players to earn extra money to make up the shortfall. The financially-troubled RA also get the player’s salary off their books for six months, which can free up more cash in the contracting budget for others. That budget has been constricted by the salary being paid to Suaalii and a general push to tame player wage inflation.
Flexible contracting was first approved by the ARU board in 2014, when then-chief executive Bill Pulver said “We’ve recognised that in the context of an increasingly global market for rugby players that we need to take a more flexible approach to player contracting. We’re creating a platform for our players to experience what rugby has to offer in Australia and abroad, all while maintaining their allegiance to Australian rugby over a long-term period.”
David Pocock signed a three-year deal in 2016 that saw him take a sabbatical in 2017, where he travelled and played in Japan, before playing for ACT and the Wallabies in 2018 and 2019. And Michael Hooper later skipped a Waratahs season to play for Toyota Verblitz in 2021.
Australia’s Rob Valetini, left, runs with the ball against IrelandCredit: AP
Even NZR have been forced into agreeing to sabbatical deals to keep their biggest stars, with Ardie Savea, Beauden Barret and Brodie Rettalick all having done a season in Japan while on contract.
Jordie Barrett is currently doing a mid-contract season at Leinster, in Ireland – which is a more uncommon way for sabbaticals to be organised and is closest to how Ikitau’s prospective deal in England would work.
Barrett joined Leinster after the All Blacks’ spring tour and will return to New Zealand in June, after the URC season ends.
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The UK/European route carries more risk as far as player burnout goes, with a player effectively playing for two years straight, and the NZR and Leinster are believed to be in close contact about Barrett’s workload; which is eased somewhat by the size of the Irish province’s top squad.
The Japanese season runs at the same time as Super Rugby and is far less onerous. A high-minute workhorse like Valetini would likely even benefit from a sabbatical in Japan.
Flanker Rob Valetini, prop Angus Bell and halfback Tate McDermott also have options in their contracts to skip Super Rugby in 2026.
Sources with knowledge of the market said Valetini and Bell, at least, have suitors in Japan’s League One competition and are likely to exercise the option.
While the absence of four major Australian stars for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season is a blow to the competition’s marketability and integrity, Rugby Australia – and even New Zealand rugby – have been increasingly open to striking deals with sabbaticals inserted, for several reasons.
Len Ikitau scores during the big victory over Wales.Credit: AP
They are seen as a way to ensure a player is not lost entirely to foreign clubs offering superior money, and can allow players to earn extra money to make up the shortfall. The financially-troubled RA also get the player’s salary off their books for six months, which can free up more cash in the contracting budget for others. That budget has been constricted by the salary being paid to Suaalii and a general push to tame player wage inflation.
Flexible contracting was first approved by the ARU board in 2014, when then-chief executive Bill Pulver said “We’ve recognised that in the context of an increasingly global market for rugby players that we need to take a more flexible approach to player contracting. We’re creating a platform for our players to experience what rugby has to offer in Australia and abroad, all while maintaining their allegiance to Australian rugby over a long-term period.”
David Pocock signed a three-year deal in 2016 that saw him take a sabbatical in 2017, where he travelled and played in Japan, before playing for ACT and the Wallabies in 2018 and 2019. And Michael Hooper later skipped a Waratahs season to play for Toyota Verblitz in 2021.
Australia’s Rob Valetini, left, runs with the ball against IrelandCredit: AP
Even NZR have been forced into agreeing to sabbatical deals to keep their biggest stars, with Ardie Savea, Beauden Barret and Brodie Rettalick all having done a season in Japan while on contract.
Jordie Barrett is currently doing a mid-contract season at Leinster, in Ireland – which is a more uncommon way for sabbaticals to be organised and is closest to how Ikitau’s prospective deal in England would work.
Barrett joined Leinster after the All Blacks’ spring tour and will return to New Zealand in June, after the URC season ends.
Loading
The UK/European route carries more risk as far as player burnout goes, with a player effectively playing for two years straight, and the NZR and Leinster are believed to be in close contact about Barrett’s workload; which is eased somewhat by the size of the Irish province’s top squad.
The Japanese season runs at the same time as Super Rugby and is far less onerous. A high-minute workhorse like Valetini would likely even benefit from a sabbatical in Japan.
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