Hayne almost made move
English side Leigh claim they came ‘very close’ to signing superstar fullback Jarryd Hayne on a short-term deal.
The 28-year-old ex-NSW and Parramatta fullback is currently without a job following stints in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and in rugby sevens with Fiji, where he failed to make the cut for the island nation’s Olympic team.
Hayne’s former Parramatta teammates Fuifui Moimoi and Reni Maitua play for the Centurions with a short-term move to England a play to assist them in their Super 8s qualifiers.
The talks with hayne’s agent Wayne Beavis ultimately came to nothing but
Jukes maintained his club did almost pull off the biggest signing in the club’s history.
Jarryd Hayne #38 of the San Francisco 49ers poses with fans.Source: Getty Images
“We came close. Our owner spoke to him and did a lot of work with his agent,” coach Neil Jukes told the English press.
“It was very close. The deadline for this year has gone and the big pull was obviously Reni, a good friend of his who retires this year.
“It just shows how far we’ve come as a club when we get linked with players like that. It would have been very similar I imagine to what Warrington did with Andrew Johns. He probably paid for himself with the bums on seats.”