Halfpenny left counting the cost of stalling over his future

LEIGH Halfpenny’s stalling over his future is reported to have cost the Wales and Lions fullback a staggering £210,000 over the next three seasons.

The 28-year-old prodigious points scorer last week finally resolved Welsh rugby’s big summer transfer saga, penning a three-year deal with Guinness PRO12 champions the Scarlets on a WRU National Dual Contract.

Since being released by Toulon in June, when Halfpenny was earning a whopping £600,000 a season with the French giants and was poised to sign a new £750,000- a-term deal with the former Champions Cup winners, the 71-times capped Welsh No.15 was linked with a host of clubs.

Wasps ruled themselves out of the running after their director of rugby David Young said: “We found it very hard to get a decision out of him and in the end we couldn’t get one. We have moved on since

then.” Halfpenny was offered a number of deals last season, including a £420,000-a-year package from the WRU to re-sign for the Cardiff Blues, while Bath and Leicester Tigers were also linked with the prolific goalkicker. But his failure to make a decision left him without a club up until last week, with The Rugby Paper reporting the WRU got him on the cheap as a result. The deal to bring the Welsh star home is said to be worth £350,000 a year. That’s £70,000 less a year over three seasons. On his signing with the Scarlets, Halfpenny said: “I’m delighted to be coming back to play in Wales. “I would like to thank the Scarlets and the WRU for giving me the opportunity to sign a National Dual Contract and I can’t wait to get started.” Why Scarlets move could bring the best out of Halfpenny: Page 49