Wales
WRU Chairman wanted Lydiate at Dragons
ESPN Staff
December 9, 2014
Lydiate unhappy spell with Racing Metro ended in October and he's set to join Ospreys this week © Getty Images
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Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chairman Gareth Davies has said he would have preferred Dan Lydiate to return to Dragons as he nears a move to Ospreys.

Lions flanker Lydiate left Racing Metro in October after a year in France and is set to be offered a dual contract this week by the WRU and Ospreys.

Under the WRU's dual contract system, a player returning to Wales would be offered to the region he last played for first but a get out clause offers the team the option not to reclaim the player and the player the opportunity to turn such a move down. Lydiate is said to have favoured a move to Ospreys due to his partner's family living in Swansea and the fact that they play in the top-tier European Champions Cup.

Davies said he understands the reasons behind Lydiate's choice but would have liked to have seen the system in action.

"It would have been nice if the principle of returning to your team of origin would have been upheld," said Davies. "The important thing is that Dan Lydiate is coming back. I think Dan, to be fair, met with the Dragons chairman [Martyn Hazell] a couple of weeks ago and the reason for going to the Ospreys primarily was because his wife is from west Wales.

"To be fair to her she's done the sabbatical in Paris for a couple of years and I think felt having had a baby in recent months as well, she wanted to be close to her parents and that's the sort of private decision that drove that eventuality."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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