RUGBY:The Leinster back-row conundrum for next season has just been further complicated by the news that Shane Jennings is returning to the fold.
When it was announced in 2005 that Jennings was about to move to Leicester Tigers there were howls of disbelief - and that on the eve of Leinster's miserable Heineken European Cup quarter-final defeat at Lansdowne Road to the same team.
Keith Gleeson was, and admittedly still is, the resident number seven but the loss of such a prodigious talent as Jennings seemed an indictment of the Leinster and Ireland management. A few weeks later Leo Cullen took the same route and it seemed the trickle might become an exodus.
Two years on, Brian O'Driscoll and Felipe Contepomi have been secured for the long term, while Jennings returns home on a three-year deal after a highly productive stint in the English Premiership.
The absence of an international cap from his impressive CV, one suspects, is the primary impetus for the return. The financial rewards in England or France would surely trump anything the IRFU might offer.
"There were a lot of reasons both personal and rugby reasons," says the 25-year-old. "Of course, I want to play for Ireland. That is one of the reasons for coming home as, yes, there is a greater chance of doing so if you are contracted to a province."
It is confirmation of Ireland's back-row riches that Jennings has yet to gain a higher accolade than captaining Ireland A at last summer's Churchill Cup. The in-form David Wallace, Gleeson and even Stephen Ferris have pushed him down the pecking order.
The former St Mary's College schoolboy will undoubtedly address this issue, though in that context the World Cup will probably arrive too soon for him. And his first challenge will be to dislodge Gleeson on his return to Donnybrook. What will stand to him is the ability, fully developed at Leicester in tandem with Lewis Moody, to operate at blind side as well as open.
"I grew up an awful lot in the last two years over here," he admits. "I've become a more mature player. I do think openside is my best position. Keith Gleeson is a top-class player. Stephen Keogh also played really well the other night. So I'm not taking anything for granted.
"It's going to be a massive challenge but that's part of the motivation for coming back."
Coach Michael Cheika agrees. "He's going to give us the options of playing different combinations. I think he can play different roles in the back row - there's no doubt about that.
"Also, we're always looking to try different combinations of playing. If you want to have the staggered back row of tall, medium, fast or play a flat back row with all three working in the same type of job spec . . . we like to mix and match . . . I think Jennings can bring a number of different variations to our game."
That a club of Leicester's resources could not hold onto their player of the season is a genuine coup for the Leinster coaches, CEO Mick Dawson and the IRFU Players Advisory Group (PAG), who rubberstamp all provincial signings.
"Leicester offered me an extension to my contract when it ends in June," explains Jennings. "There was an offer on the table from Leinster too. I was fortunate enough that there was interest from other clubs but to leave Leicester for another English club would not be a good move. This is a brilliant club with supportive fans. I didn't really consider a move to another English or French club. It was always going to be Leicester or home.
"It's a great set-up over here (Leicester) and I've learned a lot from the players. Leicester play a different style from Leinster - a more forward-orientated game - so I'm looking forward to adapting to the Leinster style that Michael Cheika has nurtured since his arrival."
The knock-on effect will leave a Leinster player out in the cold, perhaps the ever consistent Niall Ronan, but the forward recruitment process doesn't end with Jennings.
Cullen - like Jennings, after a two-year stint at Leicester - remains a target, as is at least one of Leicester's Argentinian props Marcos Ayerza (24) and Alex Moreno (33). Gordon D'Arcy is also yet to sign a contract extension.
"There are rumours about Leo but I'm not big on saying we're targeting him when he is still playing for another club," said Cheika. "We have a few different targets in the transfer market for next year.
"We're hoping to do it early, as you can see, to firm up our existing group of players and any players we're looking to get from outside the current group. There are a few players we have talked to."
Date of birth: 8th July 1981.
Position: Back row.
Height: 1.85m (6ft 1in).
Weight: 103kg (16 st 3 lb).
Representatives honours: Ireland A, under-21, under-19, Schools.
Leinster caps 2001-2005: 43 (10
in European Cup).
Leicester Tigers caps 2005-present: 35 (eight in European Cup)
