Exit bound Louis Lynagh backed into a corner by Harlequins

Louis Lynagh is this weekend set to complete his move to Benetton after agreeing to sign on at the United Rugby Championship high-flyers for the next couple of seasons.

RugbyPass exclusively revealed on Wednesday morning that Lynagh, the son of Wallabies legend Michael, was heading out of the Harlequins exit door at the end of the season to move to his hometown club.

We understand that former England under-20 winger Lynagh was reluctantly backed into a corner by Quins, who refused to offer him a new deal before a deadline imposed by the Italians to agree to the move expired earlier this week.

Benetton, who are second in the URC table, two points behind Leinster, could have moved onto other targets if he didn’t give the deal the green light, and he is now just waiting to put pen to paper, which is imminent.

Lynagh, 23, has scored 27 tries in 58 appearances for Quins and considered approaches from three Premiership clubs, including Bath and Saracens because he wanted to remain loyal to the club where he has been since he was 13.

He also turned down a lucrative offer from a top French club because he harboured ambitions of forcing his way into Steve Borthwick’s plans but is now likely to listen to any approach from Azzurri boss Gonzalo Quesada.