Ioane is following in Jordie Barrett’s footsteps next autumn, but what other moves have caused shockwaves in rugby union?
This week Rieko Ioane took the decision to follow his All Blacks team-mate Jordie Barrett in taking a sabbatical year with Leinster Rugby.
Due to spend next season in Dublin, the 28-year-old will grace the United Rugby Championship and Investec Champions Cup, as he takes a break from Test match rugby altogether.
Read more: How to watch the Champions Cup as Leinster go in search of title
In the days since the announcement, Rugby World has been thinking about the highest-profile player moves over the years. Here are 11 that sprung to mind…
1. Jonny Wilkinson – Newcastle Falcons to Toulon
When you think of rugby moves, Jonny Wilkinson’s arrival at Toulon comes straight to mind.
His final years with Newcastle Falcons had been dogged with injury and to reignite his career, the Rugby World Cup-winning fly-half wanted a fresh start.
Jonny Wilkinson arrives at Toulon in 2009 (Getty Images)
While Wilkinson did represent England at a third World Cup in 2011, his legacy in club rugby is still being felt today.
Signing at the Stade Mayol alongside the likes of Rory Lamont, Tom May and Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, the club established themselves as a dominant force and won two Champions Cup titles and the Top 14 during Wilkinson’s five years with the team.
They still attract big names – Dan Biggar will finish his career there this summer – but success has been harder to come by in the post-Wilkinson era.
2. Siya Kolisi – Sharks to Racing 92
In the past decade, Siya Kolisi has established himself as one of rugby’s most famous faces.
When Rassie Erasmus unveiled the back-row as South Africa captain in 2018, he became the Springbok’s first black captain in the team’s 126-year history and is credited with uniting the country ahead of their 2019 Rugby World Cup victory.
Welcome Home @SiyaKolisi 💙#RacingFamily pic.twitter.com/b1mcpCUh1j
— Racing 92 (@racing92) November 9, 2023
Ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the Sharks and Racing 92 confirmed that Kolisi was making the move to Paris after the tournament.
After he lifted the Webb Ellis Cup at the Stade de France, the loose forward moved across the city and made 18 appearances as the club reached the knockout rounds of the Top 14 and Investec Champions Cup.
Kolisi’s time in the French capital was short-lived. Despite signing a deal until 2026, the 33-year-old left the La Défense Arena to return home to South Africa and the Sharks in September 2024 as his contract was terminated a year early amid a reported falling out.
3. Ardie Savea – Kobelco Kobe Steelers to Moana Pasifika
It was a major coup for Moana Pasifika when Ardie Savea agreed to join the side for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
The All Blacks back-row signed new terms with New Zealand Rugby until 2027, having spent the previous two years with the Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Japan.
What it means for Ardie Savea to join Moana Pasifika. pic.twitter.com/gC8zGI6buh
— Rugby World (@Rugbyworldmag) July 23, 2024
Moving to Moana Pasifika was an opportunity for Savea to not only pay homage to his Samoan roots, but to help turn the team into a competitive force in Super Rugby.
Prior to his arrival the team had only picked up seven wins in three seasons, but so far in 2025 they have registered wins against the Hurricanes, Crusaders and Waratahs under coach Tana Umaga.
4. Ma’a Nonu – Hurricanes to Toulon
When Ma’a Nonu arrived in Toulon after the 2015 World Cup, he was a two-time Rugby World Cup winner with over 100 appearances for New Zealand and has hardly slowed down since.
Nonu in action for Toulon in January 2016 (Getty Images)
In 2018, Nonu announced that he leaving the south of France for “family reasons” and returned to the Blues for the 2019 Super Rugby season. Ahead of 2020, he joined the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby.
Nonu recently completed his third move to Toulon by signing for the club as a medical joker early in 2025 and became the Top 14’s oldest player at an incredible 42. Some career and longevity!
5. Finn Russell – Racing 92 to Bath Rugby
Finn Russell has been one of rugby’s most exciting players for almost the entirety of his career.
After spending five years with Paris club Racing 92, the playmaker’s reputation had grown tenfold and his international performances had improved alongside his development in the Top 14.
🎁 𝗔𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗼𝗻𝗲! 🎁
A man who doesn’t really need an introduction…
Welcome to #BathRugby, @Scotlandteam & @lionsofficial fly-half @finn_russell! 💙 pic.twitter.com/M4Lw6uDZVJ
— Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) December 20, 2022
When Bath confirmed his signing ahead of the 2023-24 season, it was reported that the former Scotland captain had become one of the highest-paid rugby players in the world and was tasked with ending the club’s long wait for silverware.
During his first season in Somerset, Russell took Bath to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby final where they lost 25-21 to Northampton Saints but they are looking to go one better this year…
6. Sam Burgess – South Sydney Rabbitohs to Bath Rugby
Nearly a decade on and Sam Burgess’ time in rugby union seems like several lifetimes ago.
From the moment he made his Bradford Bulls debut as an 18-year-old, Burgess was one of the brightest stars in rugby league and at the age of 21 completed a move to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
During his time in Australia Burgess’ notoriety only grew. In 2014 , rumours began to swirl about the England and Great Britain international’s future before Bath Rugby confirmed his cross-code signing for approximately £500,000 a year.
Sam Burgess’s arrival at Bath in October 2014 sent shockwaves through both codes of rugby (Getty Images)
At club level Burgess made over 20 appearances for Bath and helped the team to the Premiership Final. He was fast-tracked to the England set-up after an England Saxons outing against the Irish Wolfhounds, but it was clear that there was a disconnect between Bath and the national team.
For Bath, Burgess had been used in the back-row, while England saw the 6’5” and 115kg West Yorkshireman as a centre. That consistent juggling between positions can’t have helped Burgess’ progress as he bid to learn the game of rugby union from scratch.
Included in Stuart Lancaster’s England squad for the 2015 Rugby World, his performances were heavily scrutinised as the team exited at the group stage of their home tournament and ultimately he decided to return to South Sydney after the tournament.
After injuries caught up with him, Burgess turned to coaching and he is currently the head coach of Betfred Super League side Warrington Wolves with whom he reached the Challenge Cup final in 2024.
7. Chris Ashton – Northampton Saints to Saracens
Chris Ashton had established himself as a bona fide star at Northampton Saints during his five years with the club after hopping over from rugby league’s Wigan Warriors.
He scored over 90 tries in the East Midlands and was coaxed to Saracens in 2012 by the prospect of being coached by his rugby league icon, Andy Farrell.
Chris Ashton is unveiled by Saracens in 2012 (Getty Images)
In five years in North London, Ashton scored 66 six tries and won the Premiership and Champions Cup twice.
During his single season in France with Toulon, the wing scored an astonishing 26 tries in 30 appearances before returning to England to join Sale Sharks and pursue further international honours.
He made his last England appearance in the 2019 Six Nations and later played for Harlequins, Worcester Warriors and Leicester Tigers, where he broke the Gallagher Premiership Rugby try scoring record.
8. Va’aiga Tuigamala – Wigan Warriors to Newcastle Falcons
Even 28 years on Va’aiga Tuigamala’s move to Newcastle Falcons is still staggering.
He joined Newcasle from Wigan Warriors for a world-record £1m transfer fee in a landmark moment for the early days of professional rugby union.
Va’aiga Tuigamala was a £1million player (Getty Images)
Before moving to the north west to play 13-a-side rugby, Tuigamala had represented the All Blacks and, after a loan spell playing for Wasps, wanted a full-time return to rugby union.
During his first season at Kingston Park the giant wing helped the free-spending side become Premiership champions and certainly lived up to the transfer fee that he came with.
Tuigmala finished his career with Newcastle in 2002 and sadly passed away in February 2022 aged 52.
9. George Gregan – Toulon to Suntory Sungoliath
George Gregan’s decision to move to Suntory Sungoliath in 2008 was a potentially trajectory-changing moment for Japanese rugby.
The 1999 Rugby World Cup winner had already said goodbye to Australia with his 2007 move to Toulon, and after helping the soon-to-be French giants to Pro D2 success, he was on the move to Tokyo.
George Gregan gets a send-off in his final game for Suntory in February, 2011 (Getty Images)
A pivotal tie for club rugby in the country, Gregan spent the final three years of his playing career with Sungoliath and bowed out with an All-Japan Rugby Football Championship in 2011.
In the years since the likes of Matt Giteau, Beauden Barrett, George Smith, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Dan Carter have since made the country home as the competition has developed into one of the most exciting in the world.
10. Louis Picamoles – Northampton Saints to Montpellier
As one-season wonders go in top-flight English rugby, Louis Picamoles’ might be one of the best. For a season the No 8 shifted seamlessly from bruising loose forward to an artist with ball-in-hand and left everyone wanting more.
Picamoles arrived in England for the 2016-17 campaign after seven years with Toulouse, which had yielded a Champions Cup crown and two Top 14 titles.
Louis Picamoles made his mark at Northampton but controversially joined Montpellier after one season (Getty Images)
French players are a rare sight in English club rugby and no one really knew what to expect ahead of the back-row’s first outing for Saints. His first three home games resulted in Player of the Match awards and he went on to secure a number of end-of-season awards for his exploits.
Originally signed on for three seasons, Picamoles turned his back on the East Midlands to move to Montpellier for a reported £1m fee. During his time at GGL Stadium, Picamoles won the Challenge Cup and called time on his career in 2022 while at Bordeaux.
11. Charles Piutau – Ulster to Bristol Bears
Charles Piutau’s 2018 move to Bristol was one of the most discussed transfers in rugby history.
One reason was that Bristol announced that the full-back was moving to Ashton Gate before the side had confirmed their promotion to the Premiership, and another was his potential status as the highest paid player in England.
Piutau was reportedly being paid £1m to come to Pat Lam’s Bears and join a club ready to make the leap in the English top-flight after a season in the Championship.
BOSH! 💥
Charles Piutau’s first carry on his Bristol Bears debut and he absolutely flattens the defender!
So much power 😳 pic.twitter.com/XCJfvO5MUb
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 2, 2018
Coming from Ulster, who were reportedly paying £600,000 for his services, Piutau had already built up an impressive body of work in the Premiership in a single season with Wasps.
During his time in the West Country, Bristol won the Challenge Cup in 2020 and finished top of the Gallagher Premiership table in 2020-21.
In 2023, Piutau left Bristol for new horizons with Shizuoka Blue Revs in Japan and represented Tonga at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
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