Ex-Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans star Jarryd Hayne very close to signing for UK club

There has always been the question of whether NRL superstars would make it in Super League and vice-versa.

With the complete difference in style, some of those in the Australian leagues don’t fit in the UK, whilst Super League stars have somehow found it difficult to settle Down Under.

The likes of George Williams, John Bateman, Sam Tomkins and Ryan Hall have tried their hand in the NRL with varying degrees of success, bit it would have been interesting to see whether huge names that took the NRL by storm would have settled in the UK.

One of those was of course former Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans livewire Jarryd Hayne.

And, according to Leigh Centurions owner, Derek Beaumont, he almost made the move to his club.

“We’ve been so close to Jarryd Hayne. He was done and it ended up not coming off – there have been a few close things,” Beaumont told the Dockhouse Rugby Show.

“I kind of guess even if it is a player that won’t fit or be good enough to add value to our squad, I still put that forward because it’s not my final decision to make. They will then have their say with (Chris) Chester and Lammy (Adrian Lam).

“I will give an opinion but I haven’t put anyone forward and thought wow and they haven’t tried to get them.”

Beaumont has also revealed that being in the second tier has hampered his recruitment despite Leigh playing so well in 2022.

“It’s a tough gig where you are with the uncertainty of the Championship. Even though we sit in a good place, we are still far away from where we want to be.

“It can all change so quickly. The difficulty of this club has been recruitment, if you can get that right you can be successful.

“If you want until the end of the year when you are in Super League then the supermarket shelves have been taken.”