Halfpenny reveals Lions clause

LEIGH Halfpenny has revealed how hardnosed Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal showed a softer side in contract negotiations with the Wales full-back, allowing the prodigious points scorer to make a third Lions tour this summer

Despite not setting the stellar standards of previous campaigns, Halfpenny’s Toulon side could still end up in the Top 14 final on June 4 – close to a week after the Lions have departed for New Zealand and a day after their opening against a Provincial Barbarians team in Whangarei.

Multi-millionaire businessman and comic book publisher Boudjellal is known to drive a hard bargain in contract negotiations, and four years ago said he would not release any players to the Lions tour to Australia until the end of the French season.

But Halfpenny, who was player of the series in the Lions’ 2-1 victory in 2013, said that he only re-signed for Toulon last summer after receiving a written guarantee that Boudjellal would not block his ambitions of going on a third tour.

Speaking to the Times in his capacity as an ambassador for Land Rover, Halfpenny said: “I spoke with Mourad and said with the Lions coming up at the end of the season for me to stay on, I would want to go on the tour, if selected.

“They agreed to put in a clause for the Lions release.

“He said to me, ‘We appreciate as a Welshman and a Brit how big the Lions is for you and we are happy to let you go.’ “To be fair, that was very good of them.” More rugby: Pages 40-43