Toulon captain Carl Hayman lifts the trophy and celebrates with team mates after the European Rugby Champions Cup final.

Former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman says players shouldn't be barred from test rugby because of where they ply their trade in the professional game.

Hayman brought the curtain down on a glittering career by captaining French club Toulon to a third consecutive European title with a 24-18 win over Clermont in London at the weekend.

And he fired a parting shot at rugby bosses, particularly those in New Zealand and England, the two remaining powerhouse unions who stipulate players must perform on home soil to be eligible for test selection.

"The sooner that rugby gets to grips with the fact it's a professional game and players move around the better for everyone," Hayman said in a report in The Telegraph newspaper.

"Players would then have more choice to play where they want, which they ought to have.

"Players shouldn't be restricted by not being able to move countries because they won't get selected for their national team.

"Those kinds of decisions restrict player movement, and I don't think that should happen.

"Players should be able to come and go to whichever country they like, and still be available for their national team."

Hayman turned his back on the All Blacks in the wake of their 2007 World Cup disaster, forging a successful career in Europe, firstly at Newcastle in England and then with Toulon.

That left the All Blacks and international rugby robbed of a player acknowledged as one of the finest tightheads after 45 tests for the All Blacks.

Fellow All Blacks Ali Williams, Chris Masoe and Rudi Wulf were also in the champion Toulon mix at the weekend while the weathly outfit also fielded foreign stars like Springboks Bakkies Botha and Bryan Habana and Wallabies Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell.

Eligibility remains a hot issue in the game with Australia recently relaxing rules to allow older Wallabies stars to still be involved in the national team while playing for rich foreign clubs.

There are increasing calls for England to pick Toulon's Steffon Armitage for this year's World Cup despite him playing on the other side of the English Channel.

"I think Steffon Armitage definitely deserves to go to the World Cup this year with England," Hayman told Press Association Sport.

"He was European Player of the Year last year and he's made the shortlist again this year.

"It's not playing ability that's stopping him making the squad it's a political decision."

New Zealand rugby is set to be decimated after this year's World Cup with a mass exodus of talent.

But it's not just aging stars like Ma'a Nonu, Dan Carter, Ben Franks, Jeremy Thrush and Conrad Smith who are on the move in the twilights of their careers.

The lucrative deals on offer are attracting an increasingly younger player, highlighted by Charles Piutau's decision to shift to Irish club Ulster at the age of 23 and with just 14 test caps to his name.