Wednesday 27 July 2016 16:32, UK
Super League hopefuls Leigh came "very close" to signing former Australia international Jarryd Hayne, head coach Neil Jukes has confirmed.
The 28-year-old former New South Wales back had a stint in America playing NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and most recently tried his arm at rugby union sevens with Fiji, having quit NRL side Parramatta Eels in 2014.
However, Hayne failed to make the cut for Fiji's Olympics squad and was audaciously lined up by Leigh owner Derek Beaumont for a shock short-term move to England ahead of his anticipated return to Parramatta for 2017.
Leigh saw Hayne as the final piece of the jigsaw after signing Castleford forward Danny Tickle and St Helens centre Matty Dawson in time for the Super 8s qualifiers, and Hayne would have rejoined his former Parramatta team-mates Fuifui Moimoi and Reni Maitua.
Head coach Jukes said: "We came close. Our owner spoke to him and did a lot of work with his agent.
"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."
Hayne's manager Wayne Beavis said on Wednesday that his client was still interested in playing rugby union, but one major sticking point is that could not play for the Wallabies, having played sevens for Fiji.
That prevents the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) topping up his contract with any Super Rugby franchise and such a blockbuster remains just a possibility, with the NRL's Parramatta the favourites to sign Hayne.
Beavis told AAP: "We never talked to the Waratahs, we only talked with the ARU and we remain open to all offers.
"When the time comes, I will sit down with Jarryd, put all the offers in front of him and he will make a decision then."
