All Blacks Centre linked with French move

As he bids to get his test career back on track, All Blacks utility Braydon Ennor has been linked with a move to France, and has reportedly caught the interest of Top 14 side Perpignan.

According to Midi Olympique, Perpignan have their sights set on Ennor, as part of a recruitment drive that’s also seen South African Tristan Tedder, Fiji’s Peceli Yato, Scotland’s Jamie Ritchie and France’s Matteo Le Corvec sign for the club.

Current All Blacks coach, and Ennor’s former Crusaders boss, Scott Robertson also played for Perpignan after his test career wound down, while Dan Carter took his first NZ Rugby sabbatical at the club in 2008.

Fellow Kiwi Max Hicks, who played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and Tasman in the NPC is also on Perpignan’s books.

The signings have come amid great uncertainty for Perpignan, who sit 13th out of 14 teams in the Top 14, with just six wins from 18 games this season, and flirting with relegation to the French second division.

Ennor, 27, hasn’t played for the All Blacks for more than a year, after suffering a knee injury against Australia in Dunedin in what was the final hitout before the 2023 World Cup in France.

Capable of covering both the midfield and wing, Ennor has played just nine tests since his debut in 2019, and scored one try - coming in a heavily rotated side that defeated Japan in 2022.

For the Crusaders, he’s made 68 appearances since his debut in 2018, and was part of the Robertson dynasty that claimed seven titles in seven years. Ennor played a role in six of those title-winning seasons.

However, since his injury woes, the versatile midfielder has largely fallen down the pecking order for both club and country.

While Ennor recovered from the knee injury in his final All Blacks test, an ACL rupture playing for Canterbury in the NPC ruled him out for all of last year, and he hasn’t played a professional match since October 2023. He is currently sidelined with a wrist injury, and no slated return date. In his absence, David Havili has become the Crusaders’ mainstay at No 12 as captain, while the centre spot has largely been sewn up by Levi Aumua and Dallas McLeod.

Ennor wouldn’t be alone in trading New Zealand for France after this year’s Super Rugby season, either. One-test All Black Harry Plummer will leave the Blues for Clermont after the 2025 campaign.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission