La Rochelle eyeing two rising stars of French rugby - report

La Rochelle are lining up a potential double swoop for two rising stars of French rugby, Nolann le Garrec and Leo Barre, in the summer of 2025, according to French outlet l'Equipe.

Le Garrec, regarded as Antoine Dupont's understudy for France, is viewed as a potential successor to Tawera Kerr-Barlow on the Atlantic coast, but his current club, Racing 92, are not keen on letting the 22-year-old leave.

"We want to keep him, it's our priority," Racing 92 president Jacky Lorenzetti said, as reported by l'Equipe.

"We are his training club, we have done everything to help him flourish. But he must want to stay."

The report also said that La Rochelle will face competition from Racing 92's Parisian rivals Stade Francais for the scrum-half's signature.

Stade Francais will also be focussing on retaining the services of versatile back Barre at the end of next season, with his contract running out in June 2025.

La Rochelle boss Ronan O'Gara is also eyeing 21-year-old France international as another successor to an ageing squad member, Brice Dulin.

The two-time Investec Champions Cup winners fell off their perch this past season, crashing out of Europe in the quarter-finals and losing to Toulouse in the semi-finals of the Top 14. They will be looking to rebuild their squad to return to the top of the European game.

Stade Francais will also want to build on a promising season, where they finished second in the Top 14, and will not want to let one of the rising stars of French rugby in Barre leave at the end of his contract.

Barre will be looking to add to his two international caps this summer after being named in Fabien Galthie's France squad that will take on Argentina. Le Garrec, meanwhile, was not selected for the tour after undergoing a shoulder operation.