Waratahs would share Jarryd Hayne with a Japanese club

The NSW Waratahs will seriously consider sharing Jarryd Hayne with a rich Japanese club.

Jarryd Hayne arrives at Sydney airport on Thursday night.

The NSW Waratahs will seriously consider sharing Jarryd Hayne with a rich Japanese club if that is what it takes to lure the code-­hopper to Super Rugby.

Hayne, who has returned from Fiji to Sydney for treatment on an injured hip, still hopes to make the Fijian sevens team for the Olympic Games in Rio, but his ­future remains undetermined.

It is understood Hayne could earn about $1.3 million to $1.5m a year if he returned to the NRL, where he was a star with Parramatta before having a stint with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.

The Waratahs would be able to offer Hayne about $300,000 at most, which means he would require a top-up from the ARU to match the money in rugby league or European rugby.

But the ARU has no interest in Hayne because he is ineligible to play for the Wallabies after he played for Fiji in the London sevens, capturing his Test eligibility.

The only way Hayne could command the money he is after in rugby would be to sign with an ­English, French or Japanese club.

If Hayne played in Japan’s Top League, he could also play for the Waratahs in Super Rugby.

The Waratahs’ title-winning South African lock/flanker Jacques Potgieter combined playing in Japan and Australia and several leading Wallabies, including David Pocock, have flexible contracts that allow them to play in Japan.

Sonny Bill Williams earnt a reported $1.2m for a stint in Japan with Panasonic Wild Knights a few years ago. A package including a Super Rugby contract, a rich Japanese deal and third-party ­endorsements could potentially place Hayne in the highest pay bracket in world rugby.

And playing in a high-standard provincial competition like Super Rugby would help him to develop his game to play for Fiji at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

“Would it be something worth pursuing, if we had plenty of time, absolutely,” Waratahs chairman Roger Davis said.

“He’s an extraordinary talent. He’s a great athlete. He would bring a lot of kudos to the game. I think people would turn up to see him play.

“He has a real buzz about him as a result of his NFL experience. He’s certainly an asset you would want to look at. I can see a prize.”

Hayne’s manager, Wayne Beavis, said he had not discussed a Super Rugby/Japan deal with his star client, but did not rule it out.

“We’ll just get the Olympics behind us first and then see what’s available,” Beavis said.

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said he would “definitely” be interested in Hayne if he wanted to play Super Rugby.

“He’s one hell of a player and I think we would be definitely interested,” Gibson said. “Most of the top 20 or 30 players ... I don’t know the absolute numbers ... but certainly the players are topped up to some degree, so 100 per cent.

“His commercial value ... I’m sure the ARU would be keen to maximise that and get the best players playing our code.”

An ARU spokesman ruled out offering Hayne a bonus to play Super Rugby, but the national union would support the idea of him playing Super Rugby in Australia and Top League in Japan.

Gibson said the Waratahs did not have any interest in Parra­matta winger Semi Radradra.

“We’ve had no discussions with Semi,” Gibson said. “French rugby or rugby league is where he’s heading.”

Meanwhile, Gibson said the Waratahs would need to win their last three games to reach the Super Rugby playoffs, including beating the Sunwolves in Tokyo this afternoon.

The Waratahs are competing with the Brumbies for the Aust­ralian conference title and automatic qualification for the playoffs, but Gibson was confident NSW could secure a wildcard entry.

“If you do the maths, one of us is going to win the conference and you have to say the Brumbies have the easier run home and if we win our three games, we’re pretty confident we’ll pick up that wildcard spot given the New Zealand teams play each other,” Gibson said.

Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said the Wallabies’ NSW contingent was keen to get back in the winner’s circle after their three-Test whitewash by England.

“I think the biggest thing for us Wallabies coming back into the Tahs is we want to be part of a winning team and a winning changeroom again,” Hooper said.

“We’re hungry for that, as we were in the series. We want to come back and translate that into Waratahs wins.”