Bristol’s ‘King Charles’ leaves his throne! Piutau admits he’ll be emotional in last game for Bears

King Charles III will be the center of attention on Saturday when he is crowned Monarch, but 125 miles from Westminster Abbey, a man of the same name is poised for a big occasion of his own.

Charles Piutau – known as ‘King Charles’ to his Bristol teammates – will leave English rugby and head into the sunset after lighting up the Premiership.

First with Wasps and then with the Bears with a period with Ulster in between. Former All Black Piutau has been one of the league’s true superstars, earning lucrative and fully deserved contracts at a time when English rugby was booming.

With celebration turned into famine for Premiership players amid a landscape of financial crisis and a slashed salary cap, 31-year-old Piutau is taking his leave. Japan will be his next destination.

What will he miss most after just under five years at Bristol?

“The ciders were good,” Piutau says with a big smile on his face.

“There’s cider in New Zealand, but it’s not as big as here!”

Piutau, who won 17 All Blacks caps, arrived in England in 2015 and turned his back on international rugby in favor of Premiership wealth. He signed a contract worth nearly £1 million per season when he joined Bristol in 2018. The eye-watering fee was a recognition of his world-class prowess.

Five years on, the reality is that there just isn’t that much money in English domestic rugby right now, as Piutau readily acknowledges. He would have liked to have stayed in Bristol, where he and his wife Lineti have built a home and raised three young children.

Two-year-old Zion, one-year-old Grace, and Leo, who is just two months old, were all born in England. “Three under three,” says Piutau, his smile now more of a grimace.

“If my eyes look tired, it’s from lack of sleep! If I had told myself as a young kid growing up in New Zealand that I would be playing in England for so long, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. When I came to begin with, I found my way as a person away from home. Living abroad was a good challenge.

“Bringing my partner to Bristol and having three children here is something special to me. When the kids are older I’d like them to come back and see Bristol knowing they were born here.

“I probably didn’t know my career would turn out like this when I left New Zealand, but I’m certainly grateful for the clubs I’ve been a part of and the contracts I’ve had.

‘I will miss everyone in Bristol and the people where I live, but not the weather!’

Piutau laughs when it is pointed out that his children could one day play for England. If they have even half their father’s talent, they have a chance.

Piutau is the latest international star to leave the Premiership. Not only foreign players leave the competition, but also numerous English internationals.

“I loved Bristol and certainly would have loved to stay, but with the competition and for us as a family we are excited for something different,” said Piutau.

“It’s the cards we’ve been dealt. I will still keep an eye on the guys here and the competition and I hope it comes back with teams recovering like Wasps and Worcester.”

Both Piutau’s former club Wasps and Worcester have been disbanded this season. Jobs in English rugby are scarce and money is scarce.

Does a loss of stardust affect the marketability of the Premiership?

“If I’m being honest, yes, to a certain extent,” Piutau said. “Covid has probably exposed some of the issues in the models at some clubs that weren’t the best.

“It’s probably brought that forward and led to certain clubs and the competition in general having to look at how they do things.

“I talked to another Wasps player and we said, ‘Man, in the next generation, some people are going to grow up not knowing what Wasps was’ when they’re no longer in the league.

“That’s quite sad considering the legendary players who have come through the club and the championships they have won in the past.”

It is fitting that Piutau’s final game will come home in Bristol. Pat Lam’s Bears need to beat Gloucester at Ashton Gate to secure a spot in next season’s Champions Cup.

Piutau will not be there next semester. Nor will his fellow big money signing Bristol Semi Radradra.

Both will say goodbye to the Bears in what promises to be an emotional event.

Piutau and Radradra will play for a World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham on May 28 and then also at the World Cup in France.

Auckland-born Piutau will represent his parents’ country Tonga at the tournament after taking advantage of World Rugby’s entry rules change which now allows a player to switch countries after a three-year period.

“I’m the youngest of 10, so I always grew up being the youngest, or the most spoiled, so I felt like my personal development contributed to my personal development,” says Piutau.

“As I’ve grown, I’ve become a more senior player. In New Zealand I was always a younger man coming through. I have always enjoyed helping younger guys based on my experiences.

“When I think about the game against Gloucester and what it will be like, I feel quite emotional. I know the emotion will come.

“Once the whistle blows, it’s about challenging those emotions in gameday.”