Cardiff Blues play down link with Ospreys lock Bradley
CARDIFF Blues will not be bringing Bradley Davies back to the Arms Park, and will look elsewhere to increase their front five firepower before the start of the season.
Welsh international lock Davies has been linked with a switch from the Ospreys back to the region where he spent the first eight years of his senior career.
According to a report in the Rugby Paper, the Blues are keen for him to start a second spell with them at the start of new head coach John Mulvihill’s tenure. But WalesOnline has learned that while there were some initial discussions about the transfer, they will not progress.
It’s understood that while the Blues are seeking to increase their options in the second row, they are looking at younger players who could potentially get through more game-time and stick around for the long haul.
It has also emerged that the Ospreys decided they did not want to lose Davies, which has ended the prospect of any deal.
Davies, 31, turned down the chance to go back to the Blues when he signed a national dual contract with the WRU and the Ospreys on leaving Wasps in 2016.
With Alun Wyn Jones, Rory Thornton and Adam Beard on the books at the Liberty Stadium, the suggestion in the Rugby Paper report was that the Ospreys would be willing to allow the 64-times capped Davies to leave.
But there is no green light from the region’s hierarchy and so he will not be following the path of tighthead prop Dmitri Arhip whose move down the M4 to the capital city side is expected to be confirmed soon.