Wade's Wigan move 'due to changing Premiership'

Christian Wade has said his upcoming cross-code move from Gloucester to Wigan Warriors is a product of how much the Premiership is changing.

The 33-year-old former Wasps and Racing 92 star will swap one Cherry and Whites for another when he joins Wigan later this summer after he has finished the 2024-25 Premiership season with Gloucester.

His move comes after he played American football for the Buffalo Bills as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway from 2019 before returning to rugby union three years later having never made a regular season appearance.

"There were some opportunities but the lay of the land in the Premiership has changed quite a lot, especially since I left in 2018," he told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"I think there are quite a few people in my position with my sort of age and experience where, unless you've been at a club your whole career, there are some difficulties around extending contracts and stuff like that.

"Since Covid, the salary cap has been lowered but also [finances] in general. I think that's why you see people exploring opportunities outside the Premiership."

Since making his debut in 2011, Wade has had a varied playing career which saw him spend eight years with Wasps while he also spent time with French side Racing 92 after his NFL journey came to an end and before his Premiership return.

"I don't think there's too much of a difference, which I don't know is a good or a bad thing. Because being away [from the Premiership] for seven years, you would like to see the game progress on a bit more," he said.

"It seems as though there are fewer international stars for one. When I was at Wasps, we had a lot of people from different parts of the world.

"A lot of young guys were coming through and as you can see now, they're spread around the league. But it's a good thing as well to see some homegrown talent and rugby being played.

"I would have liked to have seen the game progress a lot more in the span of almost a decade."

Wade returned to England last summer when he joined Gloucester, where he has scored seven tries in 10 Premiership matches this term.

That includes two hat-tricks, taking his try-scoring tally to 89, fourth on the league's all-time list.

Despite his prolific try-scoring record Wade is yet to win any major honours during his career, but he could still bow out at Gloucester with silverware, with his side still in play-off contention this term.

Should Gloucester miss out, however, Wade could be in the frame to win his first trophy in a different sport as he joins a Wigan side who broke records in 2024 to win a historic quadruple of every domestic trophy on offer and are in the frame to retain their league title this term.

Asked about how it would feel to potentially win a Super League Grand Final with Wigan, Wade added: "It would be crazy, but time will tell what the future holds.

"For now, I'll focus on these last four games with Gloucester. We're still in with a chance of making the play-offs even after last weekend's result. Once I've finished here then I'll be onto Wigan to see how I can develop and help the team up there."