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Welsh rugby is set for a huge boost with Jonathan Davies having opened talks with the Scarlets about a return home.

The Lions and Wales star, who has been a spectator at the World Cup as he continues his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury sustained at the back-end of last season, is contracted to French big-hitters Clermont Auvergne until the end of the campaign.

But there’s understood to be a possibility he could be released early with a WRU part-funded National Dual Contract in the offing for the 27-year-old centre if he heads back to his West Wales roots.

Clermont’s Top 14 rivals Racing 92 ripped up the contract of unsettled flanker Dan Lydiate last season to allow him to head back to Wales and the Ospreys.

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The new WRU regime spearheaded by chairman Gareth Davies is keen to bolster the competitiveness of regional entities Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets in Europe’s Champions Cup and the Guinness Pro12 and believes bringing back the likes of Davies and Leigh Halfpenny would give the professional game a major lift.

Former Scarlets captain Davies joined Clermont for the start of last season on a bumper two-year deal but his time in France has been blighted by a string of injuries, which culminated with him rupturing ligaments while scoring a try in a French Championship match.

“If you come back to Wales you get looked after with your game-time and stuff like that,” he said recently.

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(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

“You are home and your family is there. That’s difficult out in France. You are away from friends and family.

“The decision to leave the Scarlets was one I took a while to make and I will have to do the same process and figure out what is right for me.”

Davies is due to return to action next month and hopes to be available for Wales’ bid for Six Nations glory.

An added complication for him is that Wales’ international against England next summer and three-Test series with New Zealand clashes with the end of the French League season.

Although Wales would have first call on his services for the tour because it takes part in an official international window, his potential absence from Clermont’s bid for domestic glory could rankle the club’s officials and supporters.

Wales coach Warren Gatland had warned, when the exodus of his top players to France and England began, that “the grass wasn’t always greener” the other side of the border.

He has maintained those on NDCs would be rested when appropriate, have access to the best training facilities and medical care, and could have longer careers as a result.

Wales points-machine Halfpenny, who had major knee surgery after being injured in Wales’ final warm-up match ahead of the World Cup, is contracted to three-in-a-row European club champions Toulon until the end of this campaign and has the option of a third year.

But the 26-year-old is reported to have told officials at the south of France big-spenders he doesn’t want to stay on beyond this season.

(Image: Getty Images)

Cardiff Blues have made no secret of their desire to bring him back to the Arms Park and are understood to be monitoring the situation, along with the WRU.

Halfpenny linked up with Toulon last summer after leaving the Blues and became a fixture in the big-spending out-fit’s first team after putting troubling shoulder and groin injuries behind him.

“Being in France is different from Wales in terms of the culture, the playing style and the language,” he said recently.

“For me, it’s all about learning something new to make me a better player every time I take to the rugby field, whether it’s for matches or training.”

Halfpenny didn’t discount returning to a Welsh region at some stage in the future but declined to be drawn on any specifics.