Stephen Ferris is set to leave Ulster and Irish rugby to sign a one-year deal with a Japanese club.

The 27-year-old Lions flanker is apparently less than enamoured with a much reduced central contract from the IRFU and although negotiations are still ongoing it is apparently highly likely that Ferris will accept a more lucrative offer from Japan.

Ferris, who won the last of his 35 caps for Ireland this weekend last year, and who played the last of his four games for Ulster this season in November, has recently undergone a secondary minor operation to clean out his ankle and the prognosis is for a full recovery next season.

As with Jonny Sexton’s departure, Ulster’s hands are tied in the negotiations and therefore like Leinster they are unable to improve the IRFU’s offer in order to keep their hugely popular figure who, for the time being at any rate, has played the last of hi 102 games for the province.