Wasps and Ireland scrumhalf Eoin Reddan is deciding whether to accept an offer from Leinster to link with up with the Irish province at the end of the season. His contract with the reigning Heineken European Cup holders expires at that point and Leinster are keen to secure his services.
It won't be an easy decision for Reddan as he's highly regarded at Wasps, a fact illustrated by the Limerick native captaining the side on several occasions this season in the absence of Lawrence Dallaglio.
However, despite settling in London and appreciably developing his game since moving across the Irish Sea in 2005 the 27-year-old is considering returning to Ireland where he would be more sharply in focus in terms of the national team for whom he is the current first choice.
Leinster are very keen to secure his services and negotiations are expected to be concluded prior to the start of the Six Nations Championship. Reddan has previously played for Munster and Connacht but Leinster were only one of two realistic options if he chose to come home as the Players' Advisory Group (PAG) was unlikely to ratify him joining Munster (Peter Stringer) or Ulster (Isaac Boss).
Former Australian international Chris Whitaker is not regarded as a foreign player - he's expected back from injury in time for Leinster's Magners League matches next month - because of an English passport. He is in the second year of a two-year contract but his staying on wouldn't present a problem as Leinster scour the rugby globe for a wing/fullback and scrumhalf.
The province has also been linked with Alan Gaffney who will leave Saracens at the end of the season. The affable Australian - he previously coached Leinster's Michael Cheika - has been linked with the backs coach role that he fulfilled in the past at Leinster, given the imminent departure of David Knox, who is keen to return to Australia.
Gaffney has also been touted as a potential recruit for the Ireland back-room team and the suggestion is he's likely to take up one or other role.
The focus of Leinster's season will now be the Magners League but there was a bit of an aftertaste to their European Cup exit against a very physically abrasive Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
There were one or two unsavoury incidents with elbows to the fore but perhaps it was Julian White's haymaker to the face of Malcolm O'Kelly that deserved the ultimate censure of a red card rather than the yellow he received. The citing commissioner amazingly failed to report the incident.
Brian O'Driscoll who limped off with a foot injury was examined by the medical team with Ireland yesterday and the knock shouldn't prevent him from training this week.
Meanwhile Cheika and his Connacht counterpart, Michael Bradley, will get an opportunity to assess the depth of their squads next month when the provinces meet in a couple of A games. The first will take place at the Sportsground in Galway on February 5th (2.30pm). The second tie will be on February 21st at Donnybrook (5pm).
Meanwhile Ulster's brilliant performance against Gloucester at Kingsholm on Sunday offered the first glimpse that the rehabilitation has begun and it could not come at a more apposite time. There are 17 players out of contract at the end of the season and with number eight Roger Wilson agreeing to join Northampton at that time, it seems that flanker Neil McMillan and promising young secondrow Ryan Caldwell could follow suit.
Caldwell would be a massive loss and he is being chased by several Premiership clubs while Ireland squad member Tommy Bowe, a try scorer the last day, is believed to be a target for the Ospreys and the Leicester Tigers. Matt Williams will have to do some fast talking when he returns from Australia to take up the reins at the end of the month.
