Wales
Lydiate poised to join Ospreys
ESPN Staff
December 8, 2014
Dan Lydiate is set to join Ospreys after leaving racing Metro in October © Getty Images
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Wales flanker Dan Lydiate is poised to to join Ospreys and sign a dual contract with the WRU.

Lydiate has been unattached since an unhappy stint with Racing Metro was mutually terminated in October and is likely to become the second Welsh player to sign a dual contract (fellow flanker Sam Warburton at Cardiff Blues is the other) after Newport-Gwent Dragons gave their blessing for Ospreys to sign Lydiate after holding talks of their own talks with the back-rower.

Under the WRU's dual contract system, any player returning to Wales would be offered to their region he last played for first but a get out clause offers the team the option not to reclaim the player, who also has the right to turn down the offer.

Lydiate - who played for Dragons between 2006 and 2013 - expressed a preference to join Ospreys because they compete in the top tier European Champions Cup and because it is closer to his partner's family.

Struggling Dragons could do with a player of Lydiate's calibre but chairman Martyn Hazell was happy to give the flanker his blessing to join Ospreys after speaking to the player.

"He wants a change, we talked it through and it was all done amicably. We are deeply disappointed he won't be rejoining us but we do understand his situation," said Hazell.

"His wife is from Swansea and they've got a house in Swansea, so I suppose that makes it easier to train and everything. I don't think he's signed for the Ospreys yet, but I think he's going to. We had a meeting and tried to convince him with his agent, but it was to no avail. We parted on amicable terms."

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