Former Irish U20 second row Tadhg Beirne has turned down a contract extension at Scarlets and will instead sign for Munster for the 2018/19 season to pursue his international aspirations with Ireland.
The Kildare native moved to the Welsh club in the summer of 2016 after Leinster released him as his time with the academy had expired.
The 42.ie have reported that the decision behind the move back home is that he still has aspirations to play for Ireland, and since the IRFU have taken a hard stance on players playing abroad, staying at Scarlets would automatically exclude him from selection.
Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivec was speaking at the this morning's Champions Cup launch in Dublin and he revealed that Beirne has turned down a very good contract offer to stay in Wales.
He won’t be with us next year, we’ve had that conversation. Obviously sad to see him go because he’s been great for us but if it doesn’t work out for him in Ireland then we’ll be happy to have him back at the drop of a hat.
We tried to keep him and we put a very good contract in front of him but it’s not about the money for Tadhg. It’s about the opportunity to play for his country and I respect that.
The 25 year old was one of the stand out players during the Scarlets march to the Pro 12 title last season and saved his best performance for last as the Scarlets put Munster to the sword 46-22 in the final at the Aviva in Dublin.
With Donnacha Ryan leaving for Racing Metro last summer and Leinster's Mike McCarthy retiring late last season, it is a welcomed boost to Joe Schmidt's selection options since the cupboard was slightly bare for the season ahead, with only Devin Toner, Ultan Dillane, Iain Henderson, and Leinster's James Ryan as the contenders for the second row positions.
Read the 42.ie report here.
