NZ's Ben Smith set for rugby sabbatical

Jul 16, 2017 - 3:24 AM All Blacks vice-captain Ben Smith will exercise a sabbatical clause in his contract with New Zealand Rugby to sit out eight late-2017 Tests.

The 31-year-old Highlanders fullback will trigger the option after the All Blacks' second Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia on his home patch of Dunedin on August 26, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Smith turned down mega-money moves to France and Ireland to re-sign with NZR earlier this year, with a sabbatical clause included in the contract.

The move will see him skip home Rugby Championship Tests against Argentina and South Africa, as well as away matches in Cape Town and Buenos Aires.

He'll also miss the third Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane in late October, and the Kiwi side's entire end-of-year northern tour.

One of the finest fullbacks in world rugby, Smith has endured a miserable 2017 with injuries and concussion-like symptoms.

However recent tests have determined that the symptoms - which limited Smith to just one British and Irish Lions Test - are the result of an inner-ear issue, and not a lingering concussion.

Source: AAP