Tomás Lavanini will be changes French Top 14 clubs. Bayonne have signed the Argentine second-rower on a three-year deal starting next season. Sud Ouest report that Lavanini will join Bayonne from Clermont and play for the Basque club in the 2024-2025, 2025-2027 and 2026-2027 seasons. An official announcement from Bayonne is forthcoming.
Bayonne will be Lavanini’s third Top 14 club. In addition to Clermont who he joined in mid-2021, he played for Racing 92 in 2014-2015 before returning to Argentina for Los Jaguares’ inaugural Super Rugby season in 2016. He played Super Rugby in 2016-2019 before playing in England for the Leicester Tigers from 2019-2021.
Lavanini debuted for Argentina in 2013 at the age of 20. He did so against Uruguay in Montevideo in 2013. His third cap came off the bench against South Africa where he made his Rugby Championship debut in Mendoza. He cemented himself in the team and now has 86 test caps.
His most recent cap was at the World Cup. It was against New Zealand in Paris where he played in a second Rugby World Cup Semi Final. Lavanini started in the Semi Final defeat but missed the Bronze Final due to injury.
The move from Clermont will see Lavanini no longer playing alongside Bautista Delguy. Marcos Kremer and Benjamín Urdapilleta both arrived at the club this season. Lavanini is yet to join them on the field due to his recovery following the aforementioned injury at the World Cup.
Lavanini is not the only Rugby World Cup 2023 Puma on his way to Bayonne. The club also recently signed Mateo Carreras on a long-term deal. They will be joining other South Americans. Uruguayan Manuel Leindekar plays for Bayonne as does Pumas second-rower Lucas Paulos as well as back-rower Rodrigo Bruni.
Bruni and Carreras both also played for Argentina at Rugby World Cup 2023. Lavanini is the most experienced with 86 test caps. He is tied with former Pumas Lisandro Arbizu and Rolando Martín on 86 caps. The trio are joint as the 9th most capped Pumas of all-time.
With two more caps Lavanini will move above Felipe Contepomi and Juan Manuel Leguizamón. Moreover, Lavanini has time on his side to reach the mark of 100 caps. Presently only Nicolás Sánchez and Agustín Creevy have reached 100 caps for Los Pumas. Pablo Matera, and Julián Montoya may reach the mark over the coming year with Matías Alemanno and Tomás Lavanini possibilities to do so in 2025.
The post Bayonne sign Tomás Lavanini on three-year deal appeared first on Americas Rugby News.
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