Hurricanes wing and centre Alapati Leiua is believed to have signed a three year deal with London Wasps that will see him moving to England after the Super Rugby season.
rugbyweek
Leiua’s three year deal is believed to be worth NZ $400,000 and NZ $500,000 per-year.
Like many other NZ players he has an NPC out clause that will allow him to leave NZ at the end of the Hurricanes Super Rugby season.
The twenty-five-year-old has played 35 matches for the Hurricanes and 52 matches for Wellington since 2009 and was close to being selected for the All Blacks last year.
In June last year Leiua was in contention for the All Blacks but decided to stay loyal to Samoa with his older brother, London Irish flanker Ofisa Treviranus and made his international debut against Scotland in Durban. He has now played five Tests for Samoa.
His international appearances have increased his profile but as he is no longer in contention for the All Blacks the Hurricanes struggled to match the deal on the table from London Wasps as the maximum he can earn in Super Rugby is $180,000 annually.
The pacey back started every Super Rugby match for the Hurricanes in 2013 and scored a memorable intercept try against the Crusaders in Wellington.