Benetton drop massive hint on incoming star spurned by England

Benetton dropped a major hint that Louis Lynagh is on his way to Italy to finalise his move from Harlequins that, RugbyPass exclusively revealed last Wednesday.

The United Rugby Championship high-flyers cryptically posted on X, formally Twitter, a picture of someone on board an aeroplane holding a ticket with the iconic London skyline in the background.

The winger is understood to be signing on to his hometown club, Treviso, for the next two seasons, at least after Harlequins backed him into a corner after not offering a new deal.

Lynagh, 23, the son of Wallabies legend Michael, has scored 27 tries in 58 appearances for Quins and had attracted interest from Saracens, and Bath agreed to join Benetton at the start of last week.

He is now believed to be in Italy putting pen to paper on the contract and undergoing a medical for the move, which is likely to have Gonzalo Quesada knocking on his door to play for the Azzurri.

Lynagh is unlikely to be the last player to leave the Twickenham Stoop this summer, with The Sharks lining up a £500,000 move to buy Andre Esterhuizen out of the last year of his contract.

The World Cup-winning inside centre left the Durban-based URC side four years ago, but they are prepared to spend big to see him return to the fold ahead of the start of next season.

They could also make him one of the highest-paid Springbok stars plying their trade in their homeland with a deal that could net him around £500,000 a season on wages.

Veteran England scrum-half Danny Care is a target for Bayonne, while former London Irish tighthead Lovejoy Chawatama is heading to the West Country after signing on for Bristol Bears.