{"id":428780,"date":"2026-01-22T00:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/428780\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T00:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:02:09","slug":"nrl-star-angus-crichton-explains-code-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/428780\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL star Angus Crichton explains code switch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sydney Roosters backrower Angus Crichton will leave the NRL after the 2026 season, believing a code switch had to happen now or probably never. Rugby Australia<\/a> confirmed on Wednesday that Crichton has signed a two-year deal with the organisation and the NSW Waratahs<\/a> from 2027.<\/p>\n

Code Sports and other media publications reported on Wednesday morning that Crichton had agreed to a sensational move across to rugby union, committing to the sport after one more NRL season with the Chooks.<\/p>\n

Rugby Australia officially unveiled Crichton as a marquee signing at 5:00 pm AEST, becoming the latest NRL star to jump codes. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii<\/a> moved across in 2024, and former Wallaby turned NRL phenomenon Mark \u00a0Nawaqanitawase has reportedly signed a deal in Japan.<\/p>\n

Crichton is a former Australian Schoolboys representative in rugby union before initially pursuing an opportunity with South Sydney. The forward spent a few NRL seasons with the Rabbitohs before joining their arch-rivals, winning an NRL Premiership with the Roosters in 2019.<\/p>\n

The New South Wales<\/a> and Australia representative has been linked with rugby union multiple times before, having come close to joining the Western Force<\/a> last year. Crichton returns to rugby union ahead of next year\u2019s Rugby World Cup, hoping to compete for a spot in the Wallabies squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don\u2019t do it now, I probably will never do it,\u201d Chrichton said on Nine News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up playing rugby and I came across to league when I was 18 and it\u2019s been a wonderful 10-plus years now.<\/p>\n

\u201cRugby league has given me everything that I have. I\u2019ve got memories for life, I\u2019ve got friends and stuff that I\u2019ll cherish forever but there\u2019s always that thought of going back and it\u2019s a great opportunity and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crichton is a four-time State of Origin series winner with New South Wales, recognised as the player of the series (Wally Lewis Medal) in 2024. The 29-year-old is also a Rugby League World Cup winner, collecting the sport\u2019s top prize with Australia five years ago.<\/p>\n

In the NRL, Crichton made 21 appearances for the Chooks last season, finishing with a tackle efficiency percentage above 91. It\u2019s the eighth time in 10 NRL seasons that Crichton\u2019s accuracy on the defensive side of the ball has been above 90.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big decision for myself and my family but it was important to me to get it done before the season started,\u201d Crichton explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want it to be a distraction for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so locked in with this group here at the Roosters and I owe it to these boys to make sure I empty the tank my last time for this year,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ve given everything I have for this club and I\u2019ll continue to do that for another year and hopefully that ends with us holding a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crichton is the latest signing at the Waratahs from next season, with ACT Brumbies<\/a> backrower Luke Reimer<\/a> inking a deal with NSW from 2027. Coach Dan McKellar described Crichton as \u201cthe ultimate professional\u201d ahead of the code-hopper\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to be bringing Angus back to rugby ahead of a momentous 2027 season, highlighted by a once-in-a-generation home Rugby World Cup,\u201d Rugby Australia Chief Executive\u00a0Phil Waugh<\/a>\u00a0explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngus excelled as a rugby player through the schoolboy and junior ranks and we believe he will make a strong contribution to the performance and culture of Australian Rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has developed into an elite talent and leader in rugby league and now has the opportunity to showcase his talent on the unique global platform that rugby provides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugby Australia Director of High Performance\u00a0Peter Horne<\/a>\u00a0added: \u201cThe signing of Angus is an important step as we continue to build depth across Australia\u2019s Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> squads and ensure internal competition for national selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngus has a deep connection with rugby union as a former Australian Schoolboys representative and has consistently played at the highest level in league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to bringing him back to rugby and introducing his unique experiences and skillset into our environment from next season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney Roosters backrower Angus Crichton will leave the NRL after the 2026 season, believing a code switch had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-428780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}