GALWAY-BORN TIGHTHEAD prop Oisin Heffernan will play in the English Championship with Nottingham next season, the club confirmed today.
The Clifden native played 20 times for Ireland U20s in 2014 and 2015, joining the likes of Garry Ringrose, Joey Carbery and Andrew Porter in the national setup.
Heffernan, 23, was first brought into the Leinster system on an U18 schools team owing to his education at Cistercian College Roscrea. He has been a regular with Leinster A, but has struggled to make his way up the depth chart since his Pro12 debut in 2016.
“Neil Fowkes (head coach) has made me feel so welcome and I feel I have a lot to offer to the team,” Heffernan said.
“I’m still early on in my career and a club like Nottingham is the perfect place for me to develop my game. I’m looking forward to joining up with the rest of the lads in the next few weeks before a busy pre-season.”
Though Ian Costello is moving on from his head coach role to join Wasps, Heffernan’s presence will sustain the Irish contingent in Nottingham as fellow Connacht native Danny Qualter plays second row for the midlands club, ex-Leinster man Jordan Coghlan is among their back row options and former Connacht playmaker – a Canadian international from Cork – Shane O’Leary will also pull on a Nottingham jersey next season.
