Max Deegan signs new contract to quash transfer rumours

Max Deegan has agreed a new contract at Leinster, ending rumours of the Ireland international joining Ulster.

The number 8 has regularly been the subject of transfer speculation due to the long queue of back-row talent at Leinster, the latest rumour last weekend indicating the 27-year-old was set to move north to Ulster this summer.

Those reports were nothing more than speculation though, and it's understood his contract renewal at Leinster had been agreed several months ago, with the province drip-feeding several of those announcements out over this week.

Deegan has played 110 times for Leinster since his debut in 2016, and has won two caps for Ireland, the most recent of which came against Fiji in November 2022. The province haven't disclosed the length of his new deal.

The back row has struggled to get game time in the Champions Cup in recent seasons, with Caelan Doris and Jack Conan preferred at the base of the scrum, but Deegan has enjoyed plenty of minutes in the URC, scoring 10 tries in 26 games across the last two seasons.

In addition to Deegan, Leinster have also confirmed new contracts for second row Brian Deeny (above) and prop Paddy McCarthy.

Deeny stepped up from the academy to the Leinster senior squad last summer, and has played seven times in the URC this season.

McCarthy, meanwhile, has agreed his first senior contract at the province. The 20-year-old, younger brother of Ireland international Joe, was part of the Ireland side that reached the final of the World Rugby U20 Championship last summer, and has played four times for the province this season while in the academy.

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