Blues captain and All Blacks loose forward Dalton Papali’i will be leaving New Zealand at the end of the Super Rugby season. <\/p>\n
He will be heading to France to play with Top 14 side Castres Olympique.<\/p>\n
The move comes after 1News reported <\/a>Papali’i hinted he would be leaving New Zealand Rugby last week. <\/p>\n Papali’i said that while it was an “extremely tough” decision to leave New Zealand, he felt the timing was right at this stage of his career. <\/p>\n \u201cThis club means everything to me. I grew up dreaming of wearing the Blues jersey and representing my country. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to live that dream for a long time,\u201d Papali\u2019i said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blues gave me my chance, backed me, and helped me become the player and person I am. This was a really hard decision, but the opportunity in France is something that works well for where I\u2019m at in my career with my young family.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fully committed to finishing my time here the right way. I love this club, the people, and our supporters, and I\u2019ll keep giving everything I\u2019ve got into the season ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n He first joined the franchise in 2017, and has nearly 100 caps for the Blues. <\/p>\n In that time, he has scored 100 points and led the team to their first Super Rugby championship in 20 years<\/a> in 2024. <\/p>\n All Black #1176, he first donned the jersey in 2018, and was in the squad that travelled to France in 2023 for the World Cup. He has 36 caps with the All Blacks, scoring 40 points from eight tries. <\/p>\n