FAMILY FORTUNES

IN 2015 PROMISING YOUNG ALL BLACK CHARLES PIUTAU SURPRISINGLY RIPPED UP A CONTRACT FROM NEW ZEALAND RUGBY TO JOIN ULSTER. IT WAS A MOVE THAT INFLUENCED A GENERATION.

- GREGOR PAUL

When it came down to it, Charles Piutau felt he would be doing the wrong thing to turn down the money. He had test ambitions, knew he loved playing for the All Blacks and that in all likelihood, if he hung around beyond 2015, he'd get plenty of opportunity to add to his 17 test caps.

And he'd been all set to hang around. He had even committed to the point of signing a contract extension with New Zealand Rugby through to 2017.

The deal he had signed in February 2015 was believed to have been for around $250,000 a season. It was an uplift on what he had previously earned and while it was a significant amount of money, it wasn't life changing.

He would be fairly low down the earning pecking order on that sort of money, but he'd have the chance to play test football – an experience that was difficult to put a price on - and, if he played well, it would inevitably see his market value soar.

Piutau would be playing the long game – commit to New Zealand, establish his test legacy and enjoy a career that would be rich with experience and ultimately deliver a reasonable pot of money at the end.

But in a quirk of fate, just as he made up his mind and signed his contract, his agent fielded an offer from Ulster. The Irish province had a war chest and they were eager to find promising offshore talent.

Piutau was exactly what they were looking for: a versatile outside back whose best days were ahead, not behind him.

The offer was astronomical – four times what he would be earning in New Zealand and most definitely life-changing.