Leigh sign halfback for third time

Leigh Centurions have announced halfback Ben Reynolds has re-joined the Club after agreeing a transfer fee with Toulouse Olympique.

Reynolds had asked to be released from his contract with the French side after personal reasons necessitated his return to the UK.

It is his third time at the Centurions. He initially joined in 2015 from Castleford Tigers. He then joined Wakefield in 2019, before rejoining Leigh later that year.

Having signed for Toulouse ahead of the 2021 season, Reynolds has come back to Leigh for the third time.

Overall, Reynolds has played 84 of his 123 career games for Leigh Centurions, scoring 30 tries and kicking 239 goals, including one drop-goal and holding heritage number 1398. He has amassed 821pts in his career to date, including 41 tries, 328 goals and one drop-goal.

The 27-year-old halfback reflected upon his return to Leigh Sports Village. Reynolds said: “It’s been a weird 48 hours, crazy. I went to Toulouse last year thinking it was a great opportunity for me and my family, but the way things are in the world right now made it important I came home.

“The Toulouse club has been absolutely fantastic in the way they understood my situation and agreed to release me. I have really enjoyed my time with their club and am very grateful for the way they have looked after me and accepted me into their group.

“After what seems like a whirlwind, here I am back at Leigh. I’m really excited to be back here and am looking forward to ripping in with the new boys.  Every time I come back to Leigh it feels like home and this time I want to stay for a long time.”

Head Coach John Duffy added: “The opportunity to re-sign Ben popped up out of the blue due to personal reasons and the club, after negotiating a transfer fee with Toulouse, was kind enough to offer him an opportunity in a full-time environment he knows well, and in the Betfred Super League.

“Ben has always played his heart out for Leigh and was really ripping in last season before the campaign was brought to a premature close, when he was one of our stand-out players.

“I’ve always had a good personal relationship with Ben and I kept in touch while he was in France. I know that he loved his time over there, and was training really hard, looking forward to a good season.”