Baxter looks to Europe

Sydney - Australian rugby's most-capped prop forward Al Baxter said he was likely to play in Europe next season following a breakdown in contract negotiations with the ARU, reports said Friday.

Tight-head prop Baxter, 32, said talks with the Australian Rugby Union had failed and that he had told the national and NSW Rugby unions he intended to pursue negotiations with several European clubs.

Baxter, who has played in 64 Tests and two World Cups, said he had received three offers from European clubs before the ARU talks collapsed.

He said he hoped the ARU would reconsider its stance over the financial component of a two-year deal that would extend his Wallabies career to include the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

"We've come to an impasse. I have been getting a fair few offers from overseas in the past months," Baxter told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," he said.

"But this is getting close to my last contract, if not my last. So I have to start thinking about paying off a fair chunk of the mortgage, and ensuring that I have some money set aside for kids' schooling and things like that."