Leinster look set to lose one of their biggest stars to the Top 14 for the second season in succession, with Sean O’Brien believed to be on the cusp of signing for French giants Toulon.
The rampaging flanker – who will be out of action for the foreseeable future with a shoulder injury picked up over Christmas – has been linked with the Top 14 outfit for some time, but a report in this morning’s Irish Times suggests that a deal is on the verge of being completed following O’Brien’s visit to France last week.
The Irish Times’ rugby expert Gerry Thornley writes that, according to his sources in France, O’Brien is set to return to Toulon this week if he’s not there already and, to paraphrase Steve Staunton, what Gerry doesn’t know about France and the Top Quatorze isn’t worth knowing.
The report also suggests that negotiations between O’Brien’s agent, Fintan Drury of the Platinum One agency, and the IRFU have stalled and that the offer coming from Toulon was considerably more lucrative than what the powers that be over here were prepared to offer.
Like Jonathan Sexton last year, O’Brien’s preference was to remain in Ireland, but it seems that the offer from Toulon, bankrolled by wealthy owner Mourad Boudjellal, was too good to resist, with the Tullow native set to earn in excess of €500,000 per year if he completes the move to France.
The reigning Heineken Cup champions are on the lookout for back row reinforcements with Joe van Niekerk and Virgile Bruni set to depart at the end of the season and in an even more ominous development for Leinster and Ireland fans, Jamie Heaslip could join O’Brien at his new side, with his representatives due to meet Toulon officials this week.
Until all the t’s have been crossed and the lower case j’s dotted on the deals, nothing can be confirmed for certain but it looks at this stage that almost certainly O’Brien and possibly Heaslip will be plying their trade abroad next season.
While they’ll still be available for Ireland if they do make the move (albeit in a more battle-weary state than they are under the IRFU’s Player Management Scheme), their departures could have a dramatic effect on Leinster’s fortunes in the seasons to come, particularly with Leo Cullen and Brian O’Driscoll set to hang up their boots at the end of this campaign.
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