Beauden Barrett, a star player for the New Zealand national team known as the All Blacks, has decided to transfer to Japan's professional rugby team, Suntory Sungoliath, for one year only for the 2020-2021 season!
The Suntory Sungoliath are managed by Milton Haig, a New Zealander, and have Eddie Jones, who led the Japanese national team to a miraculous victory over South Africa in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, as a consultant.
He currently plays for the Auckland Blues.
Beauden Barrett played for the Hurricanes, based in the capital Wellington, from 2011 to 2019.
Next to him is Hurricanes halfback TJ PERENARA, who scored a super try at the Rugby World Cup held in Japan.
Then, starting this season in 2020, he moved to the Auckland-based Blues.
The Blues, along with the Hurricanes, are part of the Super Rugby team, an international tournament featuring 14 rugby teams based in cities across New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.
Unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19, international tournaments have been cancelled this season and a domestic tournament called Super Rugby Aotearoa is currently being held in New Zealand.
The Blues have not performed well in recent years, with a losing streak, but this season they have won all three games since the Super Rugby Aotearoa kicked off on June 13th.
New Zealand's Christchurch-based Crusaders are extremely strong, having won the Super Rugby championship three times in a row, so I hope the Blues will do well this year as well.
There are financial reasons for the move...
According to this TVNZ article:
It's understood New Zealand Rugby agreed to the move to help ease the financial hit of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the reasons the New Zealand Rugby Union agreed to Bowden's transfer is to mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It states that.
Beauden has signed a four-year contract with the Blues and will return to the club for another two years after playing in Japan.
Borden himself
"I'll play in Japan for a year before returning to the Blues for two years, which will hopefully lead to the next World Cup."
He said.
Bowden's one-year contract is worth approximately $1.5 million, making him the highest-paid rugby player alongside former All Blacks captain Kieran Read, who is under contract with Toyota Bell Blitz.
It also seems that what encouraged Beauden to go to Japan was the amazing experience he had in Japan during last year's World Cup.
My wife and I are excited to head to Japan next year. It is an appealing place for a young family and comparatively safe in health terms.
My wife and I are very excited about going to Japan next year. It seems very appealing to us young people and very safe from a health standpoint.
Enjoying a break from Super Rugby in Queenstown with his wife Hannah, who is due to give birth soon to their first child.
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, there is no guarantee that the professional rugby league will be able to resume next season, which is a concern... I hope that it will resume safely and that many Japanese fans will be able to see Beauden Barrett's brave performance.
