Is Halfpenny Coming Home?

It has been a busy day in Toulon. Club President, Mourad Boudjellal has unleashed a surprising announcement regarding Leigh Halfpenny’s contract. Due the fullbacks niggling groin injury the French club have threatened to terminate his contract. The Welshman was taken over to France as the ideal replacement for Jonny Wilkinson.

Boudjellal told French newspaper Varmatin that Toulon “needs a world-class goal kicker”. However, with an array of fullback talent in Southern France Halfpenny already has a great deal of competition. Delon Armitage, alongside new signings James O’Connor and Juan Martin Hernandez will provide competition for Halfpenny. James O’Connor has started the Top 14 season very well and it is no coincidence that Hernandez is a prolific goal kicker himself.

With both of these players on short term deals, they will be merely be plugging a gap and if Halfpenny leaves a new long term player will have to be signed for next year. Something Toulon will have no problem doing.

Boudjellal is protecting his own interests, as a businessman he sees the Halfpenny deal as a transaction. During the same interview he told Bakkies Botha, Bryan Habana and Juan Lobbe to return from the Rugby Championship or they would not be paid. Given Leigh Halfpenny is earning just shy of half a million euros per year, the Presidents concerns are understandable.

However, sources in Wales maintain that Halfpenny did not have the groin injury when he left for Toulon. If this is the case and the injury has been sustained since the move to the South of France the President has to accept it is part and parcel of sport, particularly rugby.

Injuries and poor treatment of players are becoming frequent cases in France; the Florian Fritz incident when Toulouse allowed him to play on when he was clearly concussed is an example of this. The length and intensity of the league is a major factor in picking up injuries, Jonny Sexton had suffered his first injury of the campaign a week before his former club Leinster ever kicked off their season.

However, what is Toulon’s loss could be Wales’ gain. The immediate reaction is the Halfpenny will move back to the Blues. However, what is far more likely is that Halfpenny will get the dual contract ball rolling. At present only Sam Warburton holds a dual contract. Warren Gatland has promised that Welsh players will return from France and England. It would be a coup for Gatland to bring back the pin-up boy of Welsh rugby from the European champions.

If Halfpenny does ‘come home’ would it be to the Blues? With Patchell and Anscombe covering outside half and fullback, one class player would miss out. The Ospreys could do with a ‘marquee signing’ after they lost several British and Irish Lions over the summer. It is also Halfpenny’s home region and although he was rejected by the Ospreys as a young player, it would mean moving closer to his home town of Gorseinon.

Whether Halfpenny moved to the Ospreys, Blues, or any other region, it would be a victory for Wales and for the recent WRU-RRW deal. It is not guaranteed that Halfpenny will move anywhere, but after Boudjellal has publically stated his intentions he has damaged the relationship between club and player. With suitors queuing up to acquire Halfpenny’s stature why would the Welshman stay at a club which is treating him so aggressively?