Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Bayonne won the Pro D2 Final on Sunday. With it the club earned promotion back to France’s elite, the Top 14. The team defeated Mont de Marsan 49-20, doing so with former Puma Mariana Galarza as captain. Argentine hooker Pablo Dimcheff scored for the beaten finalists.
The club will be home to an Uruguayan next season. Bayonne signed Manuel Leindekar on a two-year deal. Leindekar will make the move from Oyonnax to Bayonne during the French off-season. Leindekar has been based in Oyonnax since he was a teenager and qualifies as a JIFF player.
The 25-year-old will be one of two Uruguayans in the Top 14 next season. He and Santiago Arata (Castres) will give Uruguayans two French Top 14 teams to root for. Arata joined Castres from Peñarol. Prior to that he played Major League Rugby.
Leindekar’s decision to leave Oyonnax for Bayonne has proven to be a golden ticket. Bayonne will be his second professional team and his second team outside of his native Uruguay. He moved from Old Boys in Montevideo to Oyonnax in 2017.
Bayonne was relegated last season in extraordinary circumstances. They earned their place back in the Top 14 by overcoming the regular season winners. In May it appeared likely that Mont de Marsan was on course to earn promotion.
Standing 2.04m (6ft8) tall, Leindekar is easily Uruguay’s tallest test match player. He holds down a starting spot in Los Teros’ second-row which include 23 caps. A second Rugby World Cup awaits the Old Boys Club product in 2023.
