Shogun Becomes A Lion.

Argentinean international Felipe Contepomi was today confirmed as the Leinster out-half for the foreseeable future after he signed a four year contract with the Donnybrook side.

Contepomi moves from the Bristol Shoguns to the side that beat them twice this season in the Heineken Cup with Nathan Spooner the one to make way for the Argentine international.

Speaking about his latest acquisition, Leinster coach Matt Williams had this to say,
“It has been well documented that we were seeking a world class No. 10. We are delighted to have secured a long-term four-year deal with Felipe Contepomi, one of the world’s top playmakers and goal kickers.”

It is not the first time that Leinster have looked to acquire the twenty six year old. After the 1999 Rugby World Cup they approached Ganzalo Quesada, the then Puma out-half, with a view to joining them and after he rejected the offer, Contepomi was contacted, but again to no avail.

Contepomi, whose father played out-half for the Pumas, made his international debut against Chile in 1998 and up to recent times made most of his international appearances at centre or full-back with Quesada the preferred choice for the number 10 jersey.

Williams also confirmed that John Lyne, Gavin Hickie, Niall Treston, Ben Gissing, Shane Jennings, Niall Breslin, Matt Leek, Kieran Lewis and James Norton will also be contracted to Leinster for the coming season, but Liam Toland, Nathan Spooner and Adam Magro will not be offered a contract with the province.

Ben Willis, Simon Keogh and Andy Dunne have opted to leave the Leinster set-up to pursue their careers in England while Paul Wallace and Peter McKenna have retired from representative rugby.