In a statement in the Western Mail, he said "I definitely will not be with the Blues next season, and yes, I am going to France. I was offered a deal by the Blues, but that was after talks were put off about an extension on several occasions.
"In the end, they said they couldn't pay me while I was fulfilling international commitments, and so I felt I had no choice. I had to think about my future, just like any player or anyone in any walk of life would do.
"I won't leave with any bitterness and I will give the Blues everything between now and the end of this season, just the same as I have always done. But after that, it will be time for me to have a fresh start and a new challenge."
Gethin Jenkins is to move to Toulon next season
Jenkins is the latest in a disturbingly long line of Welsh players to switch to cash rich French teams for more lucrative deals. With the plans to impose a salary cap in Wales, it may mean that many more might follow. So far, Mike Phillips, James Hook, Lee Byrne and Aled Brew have all moved or signed for French teams with rumours that second row talisman Alun Wyn-Jones is being pursued by Perpignan as well.
In such a rugby rich country as Wales, can the 4 professional outfits really afford to lose these players to foreign shores? I think that with the newly agreed and imposed salary cap in place, it will only speed up the decision for top players to move away from their Welsh clubs.
With Welsh rugby on something of a high at the moment, I can’t help but feel that there is a risk of the club infrastructure that supports the national team so successfully being undermined by the exodus of top players and rolemodels.
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