By Graham Thomas
Leigh Halfpenny has always gone about his business quietly and with minimum fanfare, so it was entirely in keeping that his decision to join Harlequins was low key.
No big unveiling, no leaked stories in the previous 48 hours to build the suspense.
The London club simply sent out a short statement on Wednesday afternoon, saying the 35-year-old former Wales full-back was joining them as “injury cover” for next season.
Those modest ambitions, that he will most likely be used to fill in the gaps when others are absent, is unlikely to be the extent of Halfpenny’s own horizons.
Not if he can stay fit and avoid the kind of injuries that plagued his time with the Scarlets and then the Crusaders in New Zealand.
Even if his pace has slowed from the days of his mid-twenties, Halfpenny is still a class act as a last line of defence, a timer of last ditch tackles, and an impeccable goal-kicker.
Leigh Halfpenny se suma a Harlequins
El galés, ex Crusaders, se incorpora al conjunto de la Premiership por lesión. El vínculo será por un año. pic.twitter.com/PWkkvkUfDo
— A Pleno Rugby (@aplenorugby) July 31, 2024
He also brings unrivalled experience. There are no other current Welsh internationals who have played elite level professional rugby in four different countries.
Before he joined the Scarlets, Halfpenny enjoyed three seasons in France with Toulon, following his rise to fame with Cardiff.
At the same time as he was carving out those experiences at club level, he won 101 caps for Wales and scored 801 points.
Then, there were three British and Irish Lions tours – 2009, 2013 and 2017.
Quins have always made good use of Welsh players, and their capture of Halfpenny was supplemented by the signing of former Wales prop Wyn Jones, another cut adrift by the cloth-cutting Scarlets.
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Halfpenny and Jones will join their fellow Welsh internationals Dillon Lewis and Jarrod Evans as Harlequins players for next season, playing under a coaching team that includes both former Cardiff coach Danny Wilson and ex-Wales prop Adam Jones.
Consider, also, the likes of England stars Marcus Smith and Joe Marler and it’s easy to see why Harlequins are among the title favourites to land the Gallagher Premiership title next season.
