1
Wales legend Leigh Halfpenny signs for Harlequins
By Josh Raisey
Harlequins have announced the signing of Wales great Leigh Halfpenny as injury cover.
The 35-year-old fullback has arrived at the Stoop on a one-year deal.
The 101-cap Wales international most recently played for the Crusaders in the latest Super Rugby Pacific season, although it was a campaign blighted by injury which began with a damaged pectoral muscle in preseason.
The 2013 British & Irish Lions player of the series had joined the New Zealand franchise after the World Cup, where he had brought his 16-year international career to a close.
Quins will not only benefit from Halfpenny's vast amount of experience in the back three, but his world-class goal-kicking could prove vital in the upcoming season.
“I’m excited to join Quins and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my career with such an iconic club," Halfpenny said.
"I have always admired the Premiership and I’m keen to grab this opportunity with both hands and contribute to the Quins DNA. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and running out in front of a packed Stoop.”
Quins head coach Danny Wilson added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Leigh to Quins. His experience speaks for itself, and he will bring plenty of leadership, expertise and high standards to our squad, helping mentor our talented stable of back three players alongside bringing the benefit of his enormous experience to the wider squad.
"He’s an incredible athlete, highly skilful and adaptive across multiple positions. We’re confident he’ll make a strong impact at Quins this season.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Vaai is finally having his breakout year getting comfortable and showing great form at lock, and there are form players and experience all across the backrow, why on earth would you drop him to 6. Ridiculous
Go to commentsSo far, the All Blacks have won 8 matches out of 11 this year. That is a near 73% win rate. AB fans and, I assume, the team itself are not content with that and have everything to play for with the remaining 3 tests this year.
Their historical average is something like 77% these days and, although some years will always be better than others it is not likely to drop that dramatically to 70% any time soon. There is too much historical inertia on the stats. It is like saying Ireland’s form of the last 10 years or so is likely to reverse a historical average of 48% wins soon. It just isn’t.
Moreover, when you say they are ‘doomed’ to a 70% flatline are you not just assuming that Ireland will beat them again? How did that work out for you last time?
Go to comments