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Cardiff Blues News
Blues adamant Halfpenny is staying
ESPNscrum Staff
April 18, 2012
Leigh Halfpenny goes over for Wales during the Six Nations
© Getty Images
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The Cardiff Blues are adamant that star fullback Leigh Halfpenny will not be leaving the club. Halfpenny was one of the stars of Wales' 2012 Grand Slam campaign and he is reportedly attracting interest from across the Channel. With fellow Welsh internationals Gethin Jenkins, Luke Charteris, Huw Bennett and Aled Brew all opting to move to France at the end of the current season, the player drain is already in full flow. And the Blues also face an anxious wait over where Alex Cuthbert will play next season. The winger - similarly to Halfpenny - was superb throughout the Six Nations and Racing Metro and Toulon have reportedly tabled massive offers to tempt him to the Top 14. While the Blues are still unsure over where Cuthbert will be next term, they are adamant that Halfpenny will remain in Cardiff. "Leigh's still in contract, and he's in contract for another season," Holland told the BBC. "So contrary to some of the threads that are going on, he's going nowhere." Cardiff have also announced a whole host of players leaving the club at the end of the season. While some departures were known, the list includes a few surprises. The list in full is: Martyn Williams, Paul Tito, Maama Molitika, Ben Blair, Taufa'ao Filise, Deiniol Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Casey Laulala, Rhys Thomas, Ritchie Rees, John Yapp and Dan Parks. And the Blues have confirmed that Deiniol Jones will retire from the sport. Talking about the decision, the former Wales second-row said: "I had an operation on both shoulders in November because they were getting too painful for me to continue playing and there was quite a bit of damage in both of them. "After rehab, one shoulder has improved pretty well but the other one is at the stage where there is no hope of getting back to the strength and stability needed to play rugby. So, the advice I have been given by the surgeons is that I have to retire from the game. "It has been a massive blow for me and it's a hard pill to swallow at the moment. However, if I take a step back and look at what has been achieved in the eight years I have been here at the Blues, then I am really proud to have been part of the development and progress that has been made." © ESPN EMEA Ltd
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