Crusaders and All Black fullback Leon MacDonald will take up a contract to play for Japanese club Kintetsu immediately following this season's Rebel Sport Super 14.

MacDonald, 31, has played 118 times for the Crusaders (123 Super Rugby caps in all), scoring 321 points, including 42 tries, and has played 56 Tests for the All Blacks.

He made his debut for the Crusaders as a 19-year-old in 1997.

He also played 70 games at Air New Zealand Cup/NPC level - 37 for Canterbury and 33 for Marlborough, where he began his rugby career.

MacDonald will leave for Kintetsu, a club based in the city of Osaka, in June.

He said today: "I've decided to take this opportunity to play in Japan for Kintetsu. The club's coach, Peter Sloane, is a former Crusaders coach and he was a big factor in my decision.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make as I will obviously miss playing for the Crusaders and Canterbury. I have had many good times here, including winning six titles with the Crusaders and the Ranfurly Shield twice for Canterbury."

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said: "Leon's work ethic and experience is second to none. He has had a big part to play in the Crusaders' success over the years due to his total commitment to the cause. We'll miss him but we wish him the best of luck in Japan. The door is always open for him here."

Crusaders and Canterbury chief executive Hamish Riach said: "Leon is a fine individual and he has been an outstanding player over many years for the Crusaders and Canterbury. His form in the Rebel Sport Super 14 has been superb recently.

"We hope our supporters come to AMI Stadium to watch the Crusaders play the Reds tomorrow night and give him a great send-off."

All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said while it was sad to see MacDonald go, he remained "the ultimate professional".

"Leon has performed at the very highest level and has done fantastically well for the All Blacks, Crusaders and Canterbury. He has had to overcome major obstacles with injury and has returned to play some exceptional rugby. Throughout his career, he has also been an outstanding role model and I think he has the knowledge and the skill to carry on in a coaching capacity when his playing career is over."

NZRU CEO Steve Tew said: "Leon is a great man and has been an outstanding servant of New Zealand rugby. We wished him well the last time he left our shores and we do so again. We all look forward to his return to New Zealand in the future, and hope he continues his involvement in New Zealand rugby."

Although he has played most of his representative career at fullback, MacDonald stepped into the centre position at the 2003 Rugby World Cup for the All Blacks.

At one point he succeeded with 16 consecutive kicks at goal, all conversions, and only five players have more Rugby World Cup conversions than MacDonald's total of 20.

MacDonald did not play for Canterbury in last season's successful Air New Zealand Cup for the province due to a concussion injury suffered while playing for the All Blacks against the Springboks in last season's Tri Nations.

However, he had a big part to play in guiding the younger Canterbury players in their success, something which coach Rob Penney paid credit to him for.

"Leon's experience and level-headedness was really important for the guys. He is someone every player can look up to," Penney said.

MacDonald played for Japanese club Yamaha in 2004. He was drafted to the Chiefs in 1998 and played five matches for the franchise before returning to the Crusaders.