Crichton to defect to Australian rugby for World Cup tilt

Kangaroos and Origin forward Angus Crichton is set to become the latest Roosters NRL star to defect to rugby after agreeing to a deal with Rugby Australia.

Crichton has agreed to a one-year deal with RA in a bid to play for the Wallabies at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, according to informed sources not authorised to comment publicly. He will depart the Roosters and the NRL after the 2026 season.

Angus Crichton is set to make a switch to rugby after the 2026 NRL season.Credit: NRL Images

The 29-year-old will play for the Waratahs and is being looked at as either an inside centre or a loose forward.

Crichton featured in Scots College’s first XV, and made the Australian Schoolboys side in 2014, where he played as a centre and a No.8. Many of his best friends are rugby players, and he was sighted in Europe in 2024 watching the Wallabies on their Spring Tour.

The news of Crichton’s switch comes after former Roosters teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s high-profile defection to rugby in 2024, and tricolours teammate Mark Nawaqanitawase having signed a deal to play rugby Japan in 2027, also in a bid to play for the Wallabies at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

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Crichton, who came close to a cross-code switch with a move to the Western Force in 2023, said last year he was still interested in making the move.

“I haven’t played the sport in 10 years, so I’d be interested to see where I stack up,” he said.. “It would be a different path, something that I’m open to.”

Rugby Australia have been approached for comment.

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