Super Rugby
Brumbies hooker joins Saracens
ESPNscrum Staff
January 25, 2011
Australia's Huia Edmonds is tackled by Leicester's George Skivington, Leicester Tigers v Australia, Welford Road, Leicester, England, November 9, 2010
Huia Edmonds has used a get-out clause to quit the Brumbies a year ahead of schedule © Getty Images
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Wallabies hooker Huia Edmonds will leave the Brumbies at the end of 2011 to join English club Saracens due to a post-World Cup youth policy in the Australia team.

Edmonds' contract with the ACT Super Rugby franchise ran until 2012 but the 29-year-old, who has four test caps, has used a get-out clause to seek a more lucrative deal abroad.

He cited a likely lack of opportunities to continue his Wallabies career after the World Cup as a factor in his decision to leave Australian shores on a two-year deal with Saracens.

"I had a few chats to people before I signed [with Saracens]," he said in the Sydney Moring Herald. "They [the Wallabies] were looking at younger front-row personnel after the World Cup so I think for me this is the right time to leave.

"I had a deadline and I was over that deadline to sign with Saracens. I didn't want to leave Canberra. But I have to do what's right for my family. You're only in the game for so long and you have to do all you can. They've come up with a deal that is pretty much too good to resist.

"Because my [Brumbies] contract was until 2012, that's when I thought I was going to finish up in Australia. But I had good conversations with the club in London when I was there [on the Wallabies spring tour] and the way they play their footy suits my style of footy."

There have been reports of a potential Wallabies exodus after the World Cup as players seek lucrative contracts in Europe, particularly in France. Australian players can not be selected for international duty unless they are contracted by the ARU to play club rugby on home soil.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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