Piutau has no regrets over All Blacks

Ulster full-back Charles Piutau has "no regrets" over moving to Ireland and turning his back on the All Blacks.

Piutau, 25, left Super Rugby side the Blues in 2016 to sign for Ulster, a move that ended his New Zealand career after 14 Tests and 14 victories.

Piutau, who will leave the Irish province next summer for a record-breaking £1m-a-season contract at Bristol, says he opted to move to Europe last year to safeguard his family's financial future.

"Every Pacific Island kid is on the same boat," he told the Daily Mail. 

"Some would rather stay back, play X number of Tests and become a great All Black. For me, I came to the conclusion that, man, that wasn't me. My family is going to be with me for ever and they're the people closest to me. Rugby's not for ever and I want to be able to look after my parents.

"They left their friends and family in Tonga to give us a chance to chase our dream. My dad was a bartender, battery company worker, taxi driver. 

"He had all sorts of jobs at the same time to look after us kids. People will have their opinions but they don't know the sacrifices my parents made."

And Piutau, who was omitted from New Zealand's 2015 World Cup squad after announcing his intention to join Ulster, says he does not expect to play international rugby again after agreeing a lucrative deal with Bristol.

"To be honest, probably not," he said.

"If there was a time, it would have been at the end of this season, instead of going to Bristol. 

"I'm really happy. I'm 25 and I've left that chapter behind. I've left that there. I just want to stay here now. Yeah … that's how it is."

Ulster winger Jacob Stockdale says he is relishing playing with the Auckland-born pair of Christian Leali'ifano and Piutau at the Kingspan Stadium.

"They've both come from Super Rugby where it's all fast flowing and if you see an opportunity you take it," the Ireland international said.

"I think that's really starting to rub off on me and the other players, they're really enthusiastic about attacking from anywhere and it's pretty exciting."

Ulster now face Premiership side Wasps in the first match of their European Rugby Champions Cup Pool A campaign at Kingspan Stadium on Friday, 13 October, a match which is live on BT Sport 2 [kick-off 7.45pm], followed by a visit to France to take on Top 14 side La Rochelle on Sunday, 22 October.

"There's no better test to see if you're ready or not [for a European Rugby Champions Cup campaign] than an interpro," Stockdale said after Friday's 16-8 Pro 14 home win over Connacht.

"There's probably a few areas we can and we need to step it up, that being said we showed an awful lot of grit and determination, especially in the last three minutes to not let them score a try, and we're going to bring that into Wasps.

"Wasps are a different animal, a very difficult team, but we feel we have the beating of them."

Photo Inpho/ Matt Mackey

Ulster host Premiership side Wasps in their European Champions Cup Pool A opener at Kingspan Stadium on Friday, 13 October, a match which will be shown live on BT Sport 2 [kick off 7.45pm] on the eir Sport pack.