Is rugby union’s Japanese exodus a money-grabbing exercise or a sign that the times are changing?

Beauden Barrett’s shock move to Suntory Sungoliath next year is the latest sign that last year’s Rugby World Cup left a legacy much greater than we could have imagined

Beauden Barrett has signed a deal to play in Japan next year with Suntory Sungoliath (Getty)

Many asked what the legacy would be of Japan hosting the Rugby World Cup last year. A seat at the table with the big boys was the obvious answer, which if this autumn’s proposed eight-team tournament is anything to go by, is ever slowly getting there. The end of the tier one vs tier two divide was a more fanciful dream, which World Rugby still has a considerable amount of work to achieve.

But few, if any, will have foreseen Thursday’s announcement that Beauden Barrett would be on his way to join Suntory Sungoliath in one of rugby’s most expensive acquisitions.

Big-money moves to Japan are not uncommon, but the timing of this one certainly came as a surprise. Barrett has only played twice since joining the Blues in the off-season, but he will spend at least the next year abroad in a deal worth a reported £790,000 per year while remaining eligible for All Blacks selection - the suggestion is already that he will remain for another 12 months afterwards.

Rugby’s popularity in Japan is nothing new. The last two World Cups have shown how serious the nation takes the sport, and their improvement on the global stage has been undoubtedly the greatest story in recent memory for rugby union.

Big-name signings have been common too, although not in the same way as the current global exodus is happening. Players tend to head to Japan for one of two reasons: they have been chewed up and spat out by their own domestic clubs, or they are on a last hurrah that includes a handsome pay day. Dan Carter went to Japan, as did Matt Giteau and Kieran Read. But more recently, players are going over in their prime. Barrett will be joined by Brodie Retallick in the Top League, while a trio of Gloucester players in Owen Williams, Franco Marais and Tom Marshall have all joined the Red Hurricanes this summer. Freddie Burns has swapped Bath for Toyota, while Charlie Matthews has left Wasps to join Kamaishi Seawaves.

Is it because of money? Categorically, no.

Japan is quickly becoming a nation to take seriously on the rugby stage, but the allure to players stems from the experiences of last autumn. Japan has a remarkable ability to offer a lifestyle that in some ways is similar to what is on offer in Britain and New Zealand, yet in others is a million miles away from what professionals are used to. The chance to learn the language, experience the culture and spend a year or two in a country that captured the imagination last year is proving too good to turn down.

The money helps of course, but then that’s always been on offer. What’s changed is that through the help of Eddie Jones and Jamie Joseph, Japan has become a serious rugby nation, and by staging a global tournament that put the magnifying glass on the Land of the Rising Sun, the world saw what Japan had to offer - and liked it.

It is a clear message to World Rugby: look what happens when you open up the doors and smash the barricades down.