Bayonne have named Mariano Galarza as captain. The Argentine second-rower takes over from flanker Jean Monribot. Galarza has played for Bayonne since 2019 and first played professional rugby in Europe in 2010.
The Basque club will play in the 2021-2022 Pro D2. The club was relegated from the Top 14 in a highly unlikely manner. Basque rivals Biarritz won promotion from the Pro D2 to the Top 14 against Bayonne in overtime. Biarritz won the penalty shoot out.
Galarza previously played for Bordeaux but he played in both Ireland and England before arriving in France. He played for Leinster in the Pro 14 (United Rugby Championship) in 2010. He subsequently played in England for the Worcester Warriors and Gloucester from 2013-2018.
The 34-year-old Galarza is a product of Universitario de La Plata. He made his test debut for Argentina against Scotland in 2010, doing so as the 740th Puma. He played in RWCs 2011 and 2015 and he earned the most recent of his 26 test caps against France in 2018.