ARU confirms talks with Hayne

Jarryd Hayne’s expected return to the NRL is looking less likely following talks between the code-hopper and the Australian Rugby Union.

MANY TALENTS: Jarryd Hayne during his stint with the San Francisco 49ers. Picture: Tony Avelar

RUGBY UNION: Jarryd Hayne’s expected return to the NRL is looking less likely following talks between the code-hopper and the Australian Rugby Union.

Hayne, who was believed to be weighing up a return to the Parramatta Eels or a lucrative contract playing rugby union in Europe, met with ARU chief executive Bill Pulver in Sydney on Wednesday about switching to the 15-man game with the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby.

“We have had dialogue with Jarryd and discussed the potential opportunities available to him in rugby,” Pulver told Fairfax Media.

“Jarryd is obviously a very high-calibre athlete and we are always open to talking to a player who is genuinely interested in playing the game.”

Hayne – who left the Eels at the end of the 2014 season to pursue his dream of playing American football in the NFL, and last year made the 53-man roster of the San Francisco 49ers – has been considering his options since turning his back on the NFL and failing in his bid to make the Fiji rugby sevens squad for the Rio Olympics.

The Sydney-born 28-year-old is ineligible to play for Australia at international level in rugby, having played for Fiji in May in the World Seven Series tournament in London.

Earlier this month, Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson expressed interest in signing Hayne for the 2017 season.

Yesterday, however, Waratahs boss Andrew Hore said it was premature to talk about signing Hayne.

“There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge at this stage,” he told Fairfax.

“With any of these kind of decisions, it would require significant third party investment.”

Originally published as ARU confirms talks with Hayne