Leinster to unveil Warner next week

Leinster hope to confirm the signing of former NSW Waratahs out-half Christian Warner by next Monday at the latest.

Warner, who has been playing his club rugby in France with relegation threatened Pau, is expected to join his new team-mates during the summer in readiness for next season.

The 26-year-old Australian will undergo a medical in Dublin over the weekend and should be unveiled at a press conference on Monday morning.

"We're hoping to confirm Christian's signing on Monday," Leinster PRO Tom McCormack told ireland.com"He's flying in for his medical at the weekend and we expect everything to be quite straightforward. We have a number of announcements to make and will set up a press conference for Monday lunch-time."

Warner has represented Australia at Schoolboy, Under-19 and Under-21 level and has appeared for Australia against Namibia, but has yet to win a full Test cap for the Wallabies.

He was forced to leave the Waratahs last season in search of first team rugby after losing his place to Manny Edwards (who in turn has lost out to Duncan McRae) under coach Bob Dwyer. His move to Donnybrook will see him reunited with coach Matt Williams who he previously worked under at the Waratahs.

Willams has described Warner as a "superb all-rounder who will further add to our fluid back-line."

Williams has been desperate to recruit cover at Number 10 as Leinster have been beset with injury problems this season.

First choice Nathan Spooner, who suffered what was first feared to be a career-ending injury, will be out of action until November at least having undergone shoulder reconstruction surgery.

Spooner’s understudy, the injury-plagued Emmett Farrell, is also on the casualty list (cruciate ligaments) at Donnybrook meaning that scrum-half Brian O'Meara has been forced to deputise at stand-off.

The signing of Warner is Williams’ latest as he seeks to bolster his Celtic League and Interprovincial Series winning side.

Already signed up for next year are the highly-rated UCD scrum-half Brian O’Riordan, Connacht back-row Des Dillon and Blackrock centre Gary Brown.

Adam Magro, Gavin Hickie, Niall Treston, Shane Jennings and Niall Breslin have also put pen to paper on new deals.

Meanwhile, Munster’s Heineken Cup final against Leicester in Cardiff has out-sold the FA Cup final.

Over 74,000 tickets have been sold for the showpiece at the Millennium Stadium, out-stripping the number sold for Arsenal’s win over Chelsea at the same venue.

It will also be the largest crowd at a Heineken Cup final to date, overtaking the 68,000 who witnessed Northampton beat Munster at Twickenham two years ago.

• The Ireland squad to tour New Zealand in the summer will be announced at lunch-time today.