Racing 92 lose their convert
Joey Manu is going back to rugby league. The Racing 92 back has signed a two-year deal with the Papua New Guinea Chiefs and will make the switch once the 2026/27 Top 14 season is finished, closing a union experiment that lasted barely three years.
The route he took getting here says plenty about how these moves work now. Manu left the NRL for Toyota Verblitz in Japan, spent a season learning the 15-man game a long way from scrutiny, then arrived in Paris at the start of last season. Twenty-two appearances in all competitions for Racing followed, enough to establish him without ever making him indispensable.
At 30, the timing is deliberate. A two-year contract in Port Moresby takes him to 32 or 33, which is roughly where a player of his profile stops being a strike weapon and starts being a leader.
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What the Chiefs are actually building
Manu becomes the seventh addition to a squad being assembled from scratch ahead of the franchise’s entry into the Australian competition. He follows Zac Lomax, another player who crossed codes and crossed back, to Port Moresby for the 2028 NRL season.
“Joey is another key signing for us and a further demonstration of the ambition we have for this club in making an impact for the people of Papua New Guinea,” Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson said. “His connection to the Pacific, his character, experience and standing in the game will have a profound impact on our club.”
General manager of football Michael Chammas framed it in squad-building terms. “He is a world-class footballer with versatility across several positions and can change a game in a single moment with the skills he possesses.”
The record he brings with him
The numbers explain the enthusiasm. Manu made 181 appearances for the Sydney Roosters across his first stint in league, winning back-to-back Premierships in 2018 and 2019 and two World Club Challenge titles along the way. He also collected 17 Test caps for New Zealand and represented the Kiwis at the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
For an expansion side that will spend its opening seasons trying to prove it belongs, signing a player with two Premiership rings is worth more than the try-scoring. Racing, meanwhile, get one more season out of him before the search for a replacement starts.
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