All Black utility back Tamati Ellison has turned his back on next year's Rugby World Cup to take up a lucrative contract in Japan, a report said today.
The 26-year-old, who plays for the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 14, will leave for Japan when the competition ends in late May, the Dominion Post newspaper said.
Ellison's agent Bruce Sharrock confirmed the move, saying he had made the decision for the right reasons, the newspaper said.
"For everybody looking from the outside in, you have a guy who has finally achieved All Blacks status, has become a lot more consistent and proven how versatile he is," Sharrock said.
"Then just when you think he's a reasonable chance to be in the World Cup squad he's chosen to head abroad."
Ellison had signed for the Japanese team to secure the future of his family, the report said.
If Ellison had waited until after the World Cup, he would have been competing against a large number of players looking for lucrative foreign contracts after the tournament, Sharrock said.
Sharrock would not say which Japanese team had signed the player but the report said Japanese Top League club, the Ricoh Rams, was understood to have been chasing Ellison, who has played one Test for the All Blacks.
He could earn up to 500,000 dollars (350,000 US) a year, based on other top international salaries in Japan, it said.
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