Xavier Roe leaves Chiefs for Sale Sharks after initiating his own move to England

Xavier Roe will leave the Chiefs for Sale Sharks ahead of the 2027 Gallagher Premiership season, the 27-year-old halfback confirming he personally drove the move after six years in Hamilton and no competing offers from other New Zealand clubs.

Roe, who has made 58 appearances for the Chiefs since his 2021 debut and represented Waikato in the Bunnings NPC, put pen to paper with the Manchester-based side as they prepare to replace departing halfbacks Raffi Quirke and Nye Thomas. The deal ends a stint in Hamilton that began in 2012 when Roe moved from Pauanui to attend Hamilton Boys High School.

Speaking on Sport Nation, Roe was candid about the dual motivations behind the decision. “I’ve been in Hamilton since 2012 … I think going across the world was definitely a different factor,” he said. “It’d be awesome to move over there and just play with some guys I haven’t played with before, and obviously do a bit of networking over there as well.”

On the rugby side, Roe acknowledged that comfort had become a factor after half a decade at the same club. “It’s my sixth season now at the Chiefs and I was just keen for something different — you can obviously get pretty comfortable in your own space here,” he said. “So yeah, when I was coming off contract, it was something that I was keen to do.”

Roe confirmed he approached his agent at the end of 2025, knowing his Chiefs contract expired at the end of 2026, and that Sale Sharks emerged from those initial conversations. He received no approach from any other New Zealand club beyond the Chiefs.

“It was actually me who went to him and said that I’d be keen to look overseas, and then he puts the feelers out, and Sale Sharks came to him and looked into it — that’s where it stemmed from,” Roe explained.

The halfback was also direct about his standing in the New Zealand rugby landscape, having been called into the All Blacks squad in 2025 ahead of their Rugby Championship Test against the Springboks at Eden Park and featuring in Jamie Joseph’s All Blacks XV end-of-year tour. “I’m not an All Black. I don’t have a so-called New Zealand rugby contract. I’m only contracted to the Chiefs and Waikato NPC,” he said. “For me it’s probably not that competitive where I am in the pecking order around New Zealand … it’s a lot better for me money-wise heading over there.”