As Leinster announced the signing of Robbie Henshaw this afternoon, they also released the list of players whose contract have had their provincial contracts renewed.
The list shows some notable absentees, including Cian Healy. Healy is centrally contracted, meaning that his negotiations are with the IRFU rather than solely with Leinster. The Irish Times reported a couple of weeks ago that Healy was the subject of an offer from English Premiership side Worcester Warriors.
While his non-appearance on this list does not guarantee that his future lies away from Leinster, it does cast considerable doubt on where Healy will be plying his trade next season.
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Healy and New Zealand import Hayden Triggs are the only definitive players out of contract, but there are up to 22 other senior players who might be out of contract. The uncertainty arises because of Leinster's new policy of failing to disclose the lengths of their contract renewals.
It wouldn't be hard to believe that a portion of the players who re-signed last year signed one-year-deals, and there are 22 potential players who could be out of contract in the summer.
Among those names included scrum-halves Eoin Reddan and Isaac Boss, and backrowers Dominic Ryan and Jordi Murphy amid rumours linking Ulster with Irish-qualified backrow signings.
There are three players due to complete their academy stints in the summer aswell - Billy Dardis, Stevie Crosbie, and Thomas Farrell. Crosbie made his Leinster debut in his first year at Leinster - but his progress has stalled since. Dardis' promise lead to Tony Ward calling for him to be included in the Ireland national squad two and a half years ago. Dardis has been hit with injuries, and it is possible that he might be given another year in the academy.
Here are the players who might be out of contract at the end of the season:
Collie O'Shea
Noel Reid
Isaac Boss
Luke McGrath
Eoin Reddan
Ed Byrne
Richardt Strauss
Sean Cronin
Aaron Dundon
Bryan Byrne
Tom Denton
Tadhg Beirne
Gavin Thornbury
Dominic Ryan
Jordi Murphy
Dan Leavy
Jack Conan
Mick McGrath
Royce Burke-Flynn
Ian Hirst
Mick Kearney
