Nic White will depart Australian shores at just 25 years of age © Getty Images

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A further 71 caps of Wallabies experience will exit Australia after the Rugby World Cup, with Sekope Kepu and Nic White having joined James Horwill and Adam Ashley-Cooper in signing European deals.

There was little shock when Horwill and Ashley-Cooper, at 29 and 30 years of age respectively, confirmed their departure. But news of these most recent exits has surely signalled alarm at the Australian Rugby Union and surely has the governing body questioning whether its changed tune regarding player sabbaticals will actually achieve anything. Remember, the contracting shift was designed to safeguard against a mass departure of top Wallabies talent by allowing players to spend a season in Europe or Japan as part of a long-term deal with the ARU.

And so the question must be asked: were White and Kepu offered a sabbatical? And if so, has the new policy failed its first test?

Will anyone from the ARU be addressing the departures of Sekope Kepu and Nic White? ... Is there a limit on the number of sabbatical contracts to be offered, and were either White or Kepu afforded the chance? In the wake of the confirmed departures of White and Kepu, is the ARU still confident the sabbatical option can help retain players?

The ARU declined to comment on these questions when contacted by ESPN.

At just 24 years of age, White seemingly had a long Wallabies career ahead of him yet still made the decision to head overseas. He'd signed a two-year extension with the Brumbies and ARU last August, which raises further concerns about the contracting process.

Kepu, at 28 with 52 Test caps, could be placed in the same category as Ashley-Cooper and Horwill but Australia's lack of depth at prop and the idea that front-rowers usually play their best rugby around 30 should have made him a priority re-signing.

Sekope Kepu has signed a three-year deal with Bordeaux-Begles © Getty Images

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The situation is further amplified by the fact another Wallabies halfback, Will Genia, looks set to join Bath while back-up front-rowers Benn Robinson and Ben Alexander - who are both older than Kepu - are entering the back end of their careers and may also be entertaining moves overseas.

Now it may well turn out that both men were offered a sabbatical as part of a long-term deal but the money on offer in France, and change in lifestyle, were simply too good to refuse.

What do these latest departures mean for the rest of the top Wallabies talent coming off contract, and guys like Israel Folau, Quade Cooper and Tevita Kuridrani? They're likely to command significantly more euros, pounds and yen than either White or Kepu - and hence significantly more dollars that the ARU does not have. And it's not like they, or the Wallabies' other off-contract 20-somethings, will jeopardise their hopes for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan either; a two- or even three-year deal overseas will still allow them the chance to return to home ahead of that tournament. This might also be the ARU taking the opportunity to lighten its financial load.

Whatever the case, this is a difficult situation for Australian rugby and the ARU. The board's move to player sabbaticals was widely applauded last August, but, just six months later, this week's events suggest it still may not be enough to ensure the Wallabies' top-end talent remains on home soil.