New Bristol Rugby signing breaks world transfer records

New Bristol Rugby signing breaks world transfer records

Posted on: 11 Aug 2017

Former All Black Charles Piutau will join Bristol Rugby at the beginning of the 2018/19 new season, where his reported annual salary of £1million will make him the highest-paid player in world rugby.

Charles Piutau

Bristol Rugby have broken world rugby records to bring Charles Piutau to Ashton Gate ahead of 2018/19, on a massive deal reported to pay the Kiwi £1million per season – a figure which would render him the highest paid rugby player in the world.

 

The utility back was capped 16 times by the All Blacks, and has enjoyed dazzling periods at Ulster and Wasps.

 

The deal marks a huge coup for Bristol, who fought off stiff competition from prominent clubs in France, and represents a statement of intent for the future, coming quickly after the announcement that Steven Lautau, Piutau’s All Blacks and Auckland Blues teammate, would join the club this season on a deal reportedly worth £650,000 a season.

Pat Lam

Both moves have been hugely welcome after what was a very disappointing season in the Aviva Premiership, which saw them dumped back into the Championship.

 

New coach Pat Lam, the man tasked with returning Bristol to the Premiership, has described the move as “one of the biggest coups in the club’s history” and a marker of the ambition of billionaire owner Stephen Lansdown.

 

For an exhaustive list of Bristol's 2017/18 fixtures, click here.


Article by:

Sam Mason-Jones

An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.