Ball is in George’s court now say Blues
THE George North transfer saga takes a new twist today with the revelation of an enterprising move from Cardiff Blues.
The capital region’s head coach-elect, John Mulvihill, has made a plea to the Welsh Lion to make him the headline act for next season.
“We’ve done everything we can,’’ a Blues source told
TRP. “The ball is firmly in George’s court.’’
North has been dithering over where he will play since signing a dual contract with the WRU five months ago. The Scarlets finally ran out of patience last week with head coach Wayne Pivac saying: “You can only wait so long.’’
North is left with a choice between Blues and Ospreys. He is the only player to sign a dual WRU contract without deciding which region will pay 40 per cent of his £300,000-ayear plus salary. It would be
a case of “having conversations about who’s coming and who’s going, who they are recruiting, the brand of rugby they are playing and where I would best fit in”.
Five months later North’s long silence on the subject suggests he is still to decide where he would ‘best fit in.’ Mulvihill, who takes over from the Waspsbound Danny Wilson on June 1, can only hope he has persuaded North,
below, to join forces with his friend Sam Warburton, due to start pre-season training this summer after missing the entire season.
The move will divide opinion among Blues fans, especially those concerned at the venerable age of their front row and the lack of resources at lock. Players on dual contracts have their regional appearances strictly rationed and North has made it clear that his main goal in returning home is to prolong his Test career.
Against Saracens at Franklin’s Gardens yesterday, Northampton’s wing made only his eighth start of the Aviva Premiership campaign during a season when injury restricted him to only two starts for Wales, in the last two rounds of the Six Nations.
Gethin Jenkins is to extend his marathon career by one more season into his 39th year. The
Rugby Paper understands that the most durable of props has agreed an extension to his Blues contract which will take him through to the end of next season.
While the 38-year-old Lion keeps going, next month will bring another Blues prop, Tau Filise, to the end of a long road.
After a club appearance record currently standing at 253, the popular Tongan tighthead will retire shortly before his 41st birthday amid uncertainty over the future of ex-Wales captain Matthew Rees, at 37 the youngest member of what was the oldest front row in the game.