In one of the worst kept secrets in Irish sport, Leinster have confirmed the return of legend Isa Nacewa. Nacewa, who retired from rugby two seasons ago at the same time that Sexton and Schmidt left the province will now join Sexton in returning to the team.
Nacewa has spent the last season as the mental skills coach at Super Rugby side the Blues in Auckland, while also doing some punditry work on New Zealand television during the ITM Cup.
Nacewa will be available for Leinster for the start of preseason for next season, and crucially - the length of his contract has not been confirmed.
This aspect takes on even more importance as Matt O'Connor confirmed that Leinster confirmed that the province will be looking to bring in one or two more players via LeinsterRugby.ie:
Over the next few weeks we hope to confirm the final players for next season and we hope to have news of possibly one or two more players coming in.
With Ben Te'o, Kane Douglas and Zan Kirchner also contracted for next season, and the IRFU non-Irish eligble rules dictating a maximum of four NIQ's in the squad for more than three months the un-disclosed length of Nacewa's contract could mean several things.
Either the rumours of Kane Douglas' return to Australia could be coming to fruition, Nacewa is only here on a short term contract to cover the World Cup, or the players that are coming in will only be Irish eligible players.
There is a small possibility that some NIQ players could sign a three month contract, but given that the period in question would be during the World Cup, there aren't many players that would give up the chance to play in the World Cup for a short term contract in Leinster.
Given the IRFU rules only allow one player per position over each province, the most likely NIQ signings would be in the back-three or a second row if Douglas leaves. With Eoin Reddan and Isaac Boss likely to be unavailable for Leinster during the World Cup, there is a need for a scrumhalf cover, meaning that Peter Stringer is one of the few scrumhalves left that would be eligible to play.
Watch this space.
See Also: Looks Like There Is A Big Peter Stringer Transfer Move In The Works
See Also: Five Moments That Show Why Isa Nacewa Is Such A Leinster Legend
Photo Credit Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
