Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters thinks Newcastle prop Carl Hayman could return home to New Zealand a year early.
Prop could fly Falcons' nest
Newcastle prop Carl Hayman could return home to New Zealand a year ahead of schedule, Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters has said.
The 29-year-old, widely regarded as the world's best tighthead prop, is said to be unsettled at the Guinness Premiership outfit and apparently considering signing terms with Taranaki and the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Hayman, who won 46 caps before agreeing a contract with Newcastle thought to be worth £330,000 a season, could then figure in an All Blacks tour as early as next autumn.
And, after playing in next year's national championship, it is thought he would then join the Hurricanes in time for the 2010 Super 14 season.
"He is a world-class player, so we are definitely interested in him if he is keen on coming back to New Zealand," Peters told the
New Zealand Herald.
"We have had very initial talks with his agent and we understand from other sources that he is keen to come back.
"Obviously he has strong links with Taranaki and from the Hurricanes' perspective we'd be quite happy to facilitate that if that's how it works out.
"It would obviously require a New Zealand Rugby Union contract to make the whole thing work.
"But we imagine the NZRU would be fairly interested in attracting a player of his calibre back to New Zealand."
With the Falcons currently perched second from bottom in the Premiership, Hayman has missed their last five matches because of a knee injury.
