Tierney signs as part of £1m Tigers transfer deal

TOM TIERNEY was unveiled yesterday by the Leicester Tigers as part of a £1m transfer coup aimed at strengthening their position at the pinnacle of European rugby.

Munster scrum-half Tierney, who has eight caps, has also been out of favour with his national side since Ireland’s 50-18 hammering against England two years ago.

Leicester coach Dean Richards has also captured highly rated French prop Franck Tournaire from Toulouse, while Welsh hooker Rhys Williams has also agreed a contract at Welford Road.

A shoulder injury prevented Tierney from lining up for Munster against the Tigers in last season’s European Cup final, which Leicester won at the Millennium Stadium, but the 25-year-old has had to play second fiddle to Peter Stringer for Munster and at international level over the past few seasons.

Tournaire, capped 49 times with Les Bleus, was part of the France squad which reached the final of the 1999 World Cup and played in the memorable semi-final win over New Zealand at Twickenham. The 29-year-old tight head, however, has struggled to hold down a place in the national squad under Bernard Laporte and was forced to watch as France claimed the Six Nations Grand Slam earlier in the year.

Leicester coach Richards has also secured former Wales under-19 international Williams, who spent the last nine months playing for Kowloon in Hong Kong. Richards said: ‘‘It’s a great day for Leicester. We’ve been working hard on getting these players.”

Meanwhile, Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli named one new cap while recalling AJ Venter and Breyton Paulse to his 24-man squad for South Africa’s Tri-Nations opener against New Zealand.

Free State and South Africa A flanker Hendro Scholtz was included for the first time while flanker Venter and wing Paulse returned to favour after being dropped after the test against Argentina nearly two weeks ago.

Utility back Brent Russell is also returned for the game in Wellington on July 20. A hamstring injury had ruled him out of Saturday’s 60-18 victory over Samoa.

The squad will be reviewed before they travel to Brisbane for their second match against Australia on July 27.

“There were some very difficult choices to make, which is always encouraging,” Straeuli said. “Those who have missed out must not be despondent.This squad has been chosen for only the first match.”

SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD: BACKS: De Wet Barry, Johannes Conradie, Neil de Kock, Werner Greeff, Dean Hall, Adrian Jacobs, Marius Joubert, Breyton Paulse, Andre Pretorius, Brent Russell, Stefan Terblanche.

FORWARDS: James Dalton, Delarey du Preez, Jannes Labuschagne, Corne Krige, Ollie le Roux, Victor Matfield, Willie Meyer, Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Lawrence Sephaka, Bob Skinstad, Joe van Niekerk, AJ Venter.