We knew this wasn’t too far away.

Wages in rugby are jumping every season thanks to huge TV deals and billionaire bank-rollers in France and England, and now it appears rugby is about to take the next step.

Transfer fees have been almost non-existent, with just a handful of players swapping clubs mid-contract for a fee. George North to Northampton is a notable one, and now it seems one of his Welsh teammates could follow himm

According to a report in The Rugby Paper this morning, Toulon are set to test Bath’s resolve and offer €500,000 to bring Toby Faletau to France, with a year still on his contract.

Faletau is out of contract at the end of next season, but Toulon want him to move to the south of France this summer. Meanwhile the Dragons are also said to be interested in bringing Faletau back to Newport and form a back-row partnership with Ross Moriarty.

They are willing to make him the highest paid player in Wales, but won’t be able to match the €1 million-a-season that Toulon will be offering, according to the report.

Having already played over 70 times for his country, Faletau would be still eligible for Wales should he move to France, so don’t expect this one to go away anytime soon.