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There was much dismay on Monday as rumours emerged that French clubs Toulouse and Clermont were set to announce deals for Leinster's Jamie Heaslip and Sean O'Brien respectively.

But so far nothing has materialized.

But the Irish Times' Gerry Thornley gave us the latest developments on Wednesday Night Rugby and it seems the situation is still up in the air.

"Conor Murray for sure is a done deal. He's staying and it's a two year deal. It takes him through to the World Cup season. But you'd like it to have been a three or four year deal because he is a marquee player and has all the ingredients to become the best scrum half that Ireland has ever had," said Thornley before turning his attention to the Leinster pair.

"I'm not so sure about Jamie Heaslip and Sean O'Brien. I'll believe it when I see it. Montpellier are certainly interested in Heaslip and those deals are not done yet. Paul O'Connell and Keith Earls looks more than likely to stay. Rory Best is not done and dusted but he is likely to stay. Until you hear an announcement, you just can't be sure. But I'm hearing that some of the financial offers from the IRFU for the players are disappointing them. The [IRFU] are just not as well off as they have been in the past."

The risk of injury in the attritional Top 14 has been a major concern and although Thornley believes Leinster's Marty Moore would be able to cope if he were to go because prop forwards get more rotation, he feels the toll could be quite severe for someone like Sean O'Brien who has already suffered a number of injuries during his career. 

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©INPHO/James Crombie