New Zealand captain Sam Cane will play a season for Tokyo-based Suntory Sungoliath and take a year off from Super Rugby following the disappointment of the World Cup final.
Loose forward Cane was given a red card for a high tackle in the 12-11 defeat to South Africa in the decider in France, leaving the All Blacks with 14 men for most of the game.
The 31-year-old will take up a sabbatical option in his New Zealand contract to join the Japanese League One side Suntory for the 2023/24 season and will miss the Waikato Chiefs' 2024 Super Rugby campaign, New Zealand Rugby said.
However, Cane will return to New Zealand next June to be available for selection for the international season.
"It wasn't an easy decision to skip a season with the Chiefs, but I know the team is in a great place and has an incredible group of leaders in the squad and the coaching group to have a successful 2024," said 95-test Cane in a statement.
"And I’m really pleased to be able to return in time to put my best foot forward for selection in the All Blacks."
Cane, whose national contract runs through to the end of 2025, returned home to New Zealand this week after becoming the first player in World Cup history to be sent off in the final.
Cane said he had taken some solace from his mum's advice about not beating himself up about the red card but admitted it would take a while to get over it.
"I think it’s something I’m going to have live with forever, unfortunately. It’s going to hurt for a while."
Meanwhile, former All Blacks coach Ian Foster said he is "at peace" after taking the team to the World Cup final despite feeling he lacked New Zealand Rugby's (NZR) full support during his often stormy tenure.
NZR in March appointed Scott Robertson to take over the All Blacks after the World Cup against the wishes of Foster, who had urged the governing body to hold off on a coaching decision until after the tournament.
Foster also nearly lost his job last year after the All Blacks' first home series defeat to Ireland but two of his assistant coaches were fired instead following a NZR review.
Appointed after the 2019 World Cup on a two-year deal, Foster said NZR's interest in Robertson, the hugely successful Canterbury Crusaders coach, had made his position awkward from the start.
"When I got the job, it always seemed to be under a condition, didn't it? It was the two-year contract," he told New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB on Friday.
"They had another candidate that half the people wanted and from then on it was the lens that they looked (through) everything that we did.
"I wouldn't say there was a lack of trust, I just think when you think you've got a plan B in your pocket, sometimes you don't back plan A probably as much as you could."
With the help of a new forwards coach and former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt on his staff, Foster was able to turn the All Blacks around and they fell just short of a record fourth World Cup title, falling 12-11 to South Africa in the final.
"I’m at peace that we did everything we could, that we gave it everything we got," he said. "But still there’s always a massive disappointment we couldn’t get across the line."
