From Wales to England to France... Scot Hidalgo-Clyne lands himself a Top 14 medical joker deal

It hasn't taken Sam Hidalgo-Clyne long to find a replacement club after calling time last Saturday on his unhappy spell at Scarlets. 

The Scotland scrum-half announced last Saturday that he was leaving the Welsh region by mutual consent.

He had signed last summer from Edinburgh and made 18 appearances for Scarlets before joining Premiership side Harlequins for a loan spell in March.

The 25-year-old explained: “I have enjoyed my time at the Scarlets. The boys are great and the fans are very passionate, but it’s best for all concerned that I continue my rugby career elsewhere.”

Hidalgo-Clyne had been linked with a move to French giants Toulouse, but he will now find himself playing in a very different part of France after deciding to join Racing 92 to provide injury cover. 

The Parisians are set to be without first-choice scrum-half Maxime Machenaud, who is likely to be in the France squad for the global showpiece in Japan. That has opened the door for Hidalgo-Clyne’s arrival as a medical joker to ease the burden on their squad during the Rugby World Cup period.

Hidalgo-Clyne’s own World Cup selection hopes seem long gone. He was last capped in June 2018 and is not part of Gregor Townsend’s Scottish training squad, a situation that will enable the scrum-half to start work in Paris on July 1. 

He is one of two medical jokers recruited by Racing, who finished last season’s French league in fourth and were beaten in the quarter-finals by La Rochelle. The also lost out in the European quarter-finals, giving way to Toulouse. 

Along with Hidalgo-Clyne, the club has signed back row Yoan Tanga Mangene on a short-term basis. 

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