Cardiff are set to pull off a major coup by luring Taulupe Faletau home to Welsh rugby.
The Bath No. 8 is understood to be on the point of committing to a deal that would see him become an Arms Park player for next season.
If it goes through, it would be a significant piece of business for the capital city team.
And it would be good news for Wayne Pivac as he looks ahead to the 2023 World Cup, with Wales’ head coach having made no secret of his desire to see more exiled players return to the regional scene, where he could have easier access to them.
Faletau has been with Bath since departing the Dragons in 2016.
Cardiff have been using James Ratti, a converted second row, at No. 8, and he has been doing a fine job, but Faletau has proven top-of-the-range class allied to vast experience.
While he has had injuries in recent years, he remains a high-quality performer with his ball-carrying, strong defence and work at the breakdown. Only last term, he was nominated for the Six Nations player-of-the-tournament award.
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Wales would just be delighted to see him return to Welsh rugby.
It would mean they would have access to him for every international and training session, unlike the present situation where he has to return to his club for fallow weeks during tournaments and is unavailable for out-of-window Tests, with the 30-year-old among seven England-based members of the current squad who were unavailable for the Wales-New Zealand game last weekend.
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