Bath fail to pull plug on talk of Halfpenny swoop
TODD Blackadder was keeping his cards close to his chest to say the least when asked whether Bath are interested in signing Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny.
Reports surfaced on Tuesday linking the 28-year-old with a move to the west country for the 2018-19 season with the Lions star expected to remain for a further year with French giants Toulon, though he has yet to put pen to paper on a contract extension.
Blackadder didn’t deny the club would like to recruit the 71-times capped Wales full-back and he didn’t reject claims the prodigious points scorer had visited the club’s Fairleigh House training complex last Monday when the first team squad were on a day off.
The director of rugby said: “There’s always going to be speculation out there and I’ve got nothing to confirm nor deny. It’s best not to comment.”
When asked whether Halfpenny was at Farleigh House last Monday, Blackadder said: “I’m not sure.”
He jokingly added: “He could have been driving around having a look. If I did that (commented) every time someone had a look, contract negotiations would go through the roof.”
Halfpenny has played 74 times for Wales, scored 12 tries and 668 points. He has also played three times for the British & Irish Lions, scoring 49 points.
The 28-year-old had been in talks to return to Wales next season on a dual contract with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and his former region, Cardiff Blues, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup in mind. The salary offer was believed to be about £420,000 per year, while French giants Toulon were willing to pay about £750,000.
Negotiations with the WRU reportedly broke down not due to money, but because the union was not willing to extend their proposed two-year contract by four more months to cover the World Cup in Japan at the start of the 2019 season, before Halfpenny would potentially try his hand at Super Rugby.
Now Halfpenny is understood to have committed to play for Toulon next season – his fourth – after which time he would become a free agent.
Should Halfpenny join Bath he would link up with a clutch of former and current Welsh internationals on the club’s books.
Lock Luke Charteris and No.8 Taulupe Faletau made the move to The Rec last summer from Racing 92 and the Newport Gwent Dragons respectively while just over a month into the season wing Aled Brew was signed up from the Rodney Parade region.
Wales outside-half Rhys Priestland joined Bath in 2015 and recently signed a contract extension with the club where he will fight it out with Freddie Burns for the No.10 shirt.