Wallabies utility back Christian Leal’ifano will end his 12-year career with the ACT Brumbies at the end of the Super Rugby season to play in Japan from next season.
The 31-year-old has played 148 matches for the Brumbies and, as captain, has led them to this season’s playoffs.
But yesterday he announced his retirement from Super Rugby, indicating he will end his career in Japan.
Leali’ifano first joined the Canberra-based Brumbies in 2007. In 2016 he was diagnosed with leukemia but recovered after treatment to rejoin the Brumbies a year later.
“I never thought that it was time to move on after coming back from illness. I thought it was a massive achievement,” he said. “I’ll never regret coming back to Super Rugby and putting on the Brumbies jersey.
“It’s something that I’m extremely proud of and I’ll hold the Brumbies close to my heart for a long time. It’s probably the biggest decision I’ve made in my rugby career, to be able to farewell my beloved Brumbies.”
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