Stephen Donald Ulster deal off after failing medical
Monday 22 January 2018 17:07, UK
Ulster have confirmed Stephen Donald will not be signing a short-term deal with the club after failing a medical.
The fly-half had been set to join the Irish province to fill a vacancy in their half-backs created by the departing Christian Lealiifano.
Donald, who kicked the winning points during New Zealand's victorious 2011 Rugby World Cup final after a late call-up, misses out on a move to Ireland due to injury.
"Unfortunately, Ulster Rugby is not in a position to proceed with the signing of Stephen Donald, after receiving a medical report on the player yesterday (Sunday)," said a statement on Ulster's website.
"Stephen had agreed a short-term deal to join the Province, but he sustained an injury while representing his club in the final game of the Japanese season, which will rule him out for 4+ weeks.
"The timeline now makes it very difficult to find a suitable replacement, but we will continue to monitor the market"
Lealiifano's five-month deal with the province finished at the end of the European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage this weekend and the 30-year-old is returning to the Brumbies to prepare for the Super Rugby season.
Ulster missed out on qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions Cup and will play their next Guinness PRO14 fixture on February 9 against the Southern Kings at the Kingspan Stadium.
