Rugby: All Blacks halfback Brad Weber confirms overseas interest but says no deal done yet

Brad Weber is off-contract at the end of 2023. Photo / Photosport

Brad Weber says he has yet to confirm his plans beyond the 2023 season, despite reports that he will be taking his talent to France next season.

The All Blacks and Chiefs halfback has been linked with a move to French Top 14 club Stade Francais once his contract with New Zealand Rugby expires at the end of this year, adding to the growing list of elite talent having their last ride on Kiwi shores for the foreseeable future.

However, Weber said while he had fielded a number of offers, nothing was set in stone yet.

“There’s been a few rumours thrown out there, which is classic, but I’m definitely trying to work through that at the moment and try to get a decision done,” Weber told the Herald. “Once it’s all confirmed you’ll hear it from me and I’ll get it out there.

“At my age, too, sometimes you wonder if you’ll have anything, so it’s nice as a 32-year-old to have a few things on the table. To be fair, I say that I’m 32, but I don’t feel that old, I still feel real young. So, hopefully I play that way too.”

Weber has been a fixture of the Chiefs squad for the last decade, having made his debut with the team in 2014, and in recent years has emerged as one of Super Rugby’s most impactful talents. A player who reads the game well, can break it open when he puts the foot down and looks to keep the tempo high, Weber has been a big part of the Chiefs’ return to contention after an 0-8 season in Super Rugby Aotearoa in 2020.

He has played 18 tests for the All Blacks since 2015, with 14 of those appearances off the bench as Aaron Smith dominated the starting jersey.

Last year, Weber found himself in a four-way battle with Finlay Christie (Blues), Folau Fakatava (Highlanders) and TJ Perenara (Hurricanes) to fill the available test spots behind Smith. Although initially missing out, he was called into the test squad after an injury to Fakatava. That positional battle is expected to be one of several to track throughout the Super Rugby season as the All Blacks build toward the World Cup in France.

This year, Weber will again co-captain the Chiefs alongside Sam Cane, as the team look to capitalise on the growth they have made over the past few years before they lose some of their top talent.

All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick and two-test flanker Pita Gus Sowakula have already confirmed they will be heading offshore on long-term deals following the 2023 season. Cane is contracted with New Zealand Rugby through 2025, but has the option of taking a sabbatical in 2024, and the likes of Weber, Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie are off-contract after the World Cup later in the year.

The Chiefs aren’t the only team facing a mass exodus, with most Super Rugby teams in New Zealand set to lose players to lucrative overseas deals following the World Cup campaign.

“We’ve had a very consistent squad, particularly this year from last year - we haven’t lost a lot and obviously added Damien back,” Weber said. “We’ve got a young squad but we’ve had a lot of guys that have been around and are into their third or fourth seasons that should really be having their straps, so I do feel like this is the year that we probably need to put it all together knowing that we’ve got a couple of guys moving overseas next year.

“Who knows what the landscape in New Zealand rugby is going to be like with so many guys from other franchises leaving as well. But certainly from my era, with guys like Guz (Retallick) that they were leaving, I definitely feel a bit of pressure to go out with a bang and finally to live up to our potential, because I think we’ve had the goods to win over the last couple of years, but we’ve come up short.”