{"id":389329,"date":"2026-01-25T07:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T07:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/389329\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T07:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T07:20:10","slug":"all-blacks-legend-aaron-smith-set-to-complete-shock-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/389329\/","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks legend Aaron Smith set to complete shock transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Toyota Verblitz scrum-half\u00a0Aaron Smith, 37, has been linked with a potential summer move to\u00a0Top 14 side Pau, according to French outlet Rugbyrama.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/channel\/AbYd2l05pp1bM_Ix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Join RUCK\u2019s Instagram broadcast channel <\/a>and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.<\/p>\n<p>The legendary All Blacks No.9 is understood to be\u00a0out of contract at the end of the season, and speculation around his future has gathered pace after Smith was seen\u00a0following the French club on Instagram\u00a0\u2014 a small but intriguing detail that has caught the attention of supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Smith is widely regarded as\u00a0one of the greatest scrum-halves of the professional era. He amassed\u00a0125 Test caps for New Zealand, becoming the most-capped scrum-half in All Blacks history, and was a central figure in their\u00a02015 Rugby World Cup victory. <\/p>\n<p>Renowned for his lightning-quick pass, sharp decision-making and elite game management, Smith helped define the modern No.9 role over more than a decade at international level.<\/p>\n<p>At club level, Smith was a long-time stalwart of the\u00a0Highlanders, making over 170 appearances and playing a key role in their\u00a0historic 2015 Super Rugby title. He joined Toyota Verblitz in 2023, bringing leadership and experience to Japan Rugby League One.<\/p>\n<p>A move to Pau would mark\u00a0Smith\u2019s first stint in European rugby, adding yet another chapter to an already remarkable career.<\/p>\n<p>EDITORS PICKS:<\/p>\n<p>Only one rugby player in history has a bigger net worth than Dan Carter<\/p>\n<p>6\ufe0f\u20e3 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)<\/p>\n<p>Estimated Net Worth: \u00a312\u201314 million<br \/>Bio:\u00a0Widely regarded as the greatest openside flanker of all time, McCaw captained the All Blacks to two Rugby World Cup victories (2011, 2015). Known for his leadership, work ethic, and tactical intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>Key Points:<\/p>\n<p>Two-time Rugby World Cup winner (2011, 2015)<\/p>\n<p>Long All Blacks career with record appearances<\/p>\n<p>Sponsorships with major brands (Adidas, aviation)<\/p>\n<p>Post-retirement speaking engagements and business ventures<\/p>\n<p>5\ufe0f\u20e3 Brian O\u2019Driscoll (Ireland)<\/p>\n<p>Estimated Net Worth: \u00a313\u201315 million<br \/>Bio:\u00a0Ireland\u2019s most capped player and one of the finest centres in rugby history. O\u2019Driscoll led Ireland and the British &amp; Irish Lions to numerous successes and transitioned into media work after retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Key Points:<\/p>\n<p>Ireland and British &amp; Irish Lions captain<\/p>\n<p>Successful broadcasting career (punditry with BT Sport)<\/p>\n<p>Brand ambassador for multiple companies<\/p>\n<p>Post-retirement business roles<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ruck.co.uk\/all-blacks-legend-aaron-smith-set-to-complete-shock-transfer\/2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Like this:<\/p>\n<p>Like Loading&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"sd-link-color\"\/>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toyota Verblitz scrum-half\u00a0Aaron Smith, 37, has been linked with a potential summer move to\u00a0Top 14 side Pau, according&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-389329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}