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Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency
Leigh Halfpenny is preparing for his second stint with Cardiff
Cardiff have signed former Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny on a short-term contract.
Halfpenny, 36, will initially take on a kicking coach role but aims to play for the Arms Park side again when he recovers from a calf injury.
The former British and Irish Lions Test star had been training with Cardiff after leaving Harlequins at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The deal had been agreed before the departure of former head coach Matt Sherratt who left to join Steve Tandy's Wales backroom staff.
"I'm really grateful for this opportunity – first to Jockey (Matt Sherratt) for bringing me in and to the club for formulising the arrangement," said Halfpenny.
Combining playing and coaching
Halfpenny was given a kicking coach role by Wales during the summer tour of Japan where he worked in the backroom staff of Sherratt, who has since left Cardiff to become the permanent Wales attack coach.
"I have been fortunate to work as a kicking coach with Wales Under-20s a few years ago and more recently had the privilege of working with the senior team in Japan this summer," said Halfpenny
"This is the next step in that journey and I'm really enjoying working with Cardiff's kickers and their young back-three players.
"There is so much talent here and if I can help them in any way, passing on my experience then that is great."
In an illustrious career Halfpenny won 101 Wales caps, appeared in four Lions Test matches and won the Heineken Cup during his time with Toulon.
He is not yet ready to hang up his boots.
"Being a kicking coach is where I see my future but I'm still enormously motivated to play and feel I have a lot to give on the pitch," said Halfpenny.
Back to where it all began
Halfpenny played for Cardiff RFC and Cardiff Blues between 2007 and 2014 before moving to Toulon and later Scarlets.
During his previous seven years at Cardiff, Halfpenny made 87 appearances, scoring 568 points.
The 36-year-old won both the Amlin Challenge Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup during that time.
"After coming through the academy and spending seven years here, I have always hoped to come back to the Arms Park one day," said Halfpenny.
"To be able to play for this club again would mean so much to me, where it all started.
"It would be a dream to finish my playing career here."
