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Wasps lock Flament to exit club, opening Ricoh door for hulking Montpellier foward
By Ian Cameron
Wasps will lose the services of highly-rated lock Thibaud Flament, who will join Stade Toulousain at the end of October on a three-year deal. The move will only add to speculation that giant Montpellier forward Jacques du Plessis is on the way to the Ricoh Arena.
French giants Toulouse confirmed today that Flament has signed a three-season deal taking him to 2023. The 23-year-old Frenchman is described as having 'great potential' by this new club.
“Thibaud is one of those young players with great potential that we are following. It matches the playing philosophy advocated by our team and we can't wait to see it evolve in our jersey. We are happy and proud that he has placed his trust in us for the next three seasons. By making his signature official, we are building the future with the 2023 World Cup in France in our sights,” said Toulouse President Didier Lacroix.
Thibaud is looking foward to his arrival at the famous Black and Reds. “I am obviously very happy to join Stade Toulousain. Beyond the child's dream come true, joining this legendary club has a flavor that is all the more special as after having tasted Argentinian and English rugby, it will be the first time in my life that I will evolve in a club French.
"So I can't wait to start training, to meet my teammates, the public, and to fully discover this city that I had the opportunity to visit a few times, but I can't wait to wear the Red and Black jersey!"
Wasps Head Coach Lee Blackett said: “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to keep him at the club Thibaud has decided to move onto pastures new for the 2020/21 season.
“We are disappointed to lose Thibaud. Having joined our Senior Academy from Loughborough University, he has really developed his game and performed well for us throughout the current campaign.
“Nevertheless, we want to wish him all the best for his future career and put on record our thanks for the contribution he has made to Wasps Rugby.”
Flament, who as featured 16 times for Wasps, said: “I would like to thank everyone at Wasps for their support during my time at the club, it has been an honour to wear the Black and Gold.
Flament's departure from Wasps opens the door for the arrival of Jacques du Plessis. Du Plessis is signed to Montpellier for a further year, but the giant ex-Bulls forward may be offloaded as the Top 14 club look to balance their books.
The 6'7, 125kg forward can cover both second and back row and widely considered highly unfortunate not to have been capped by the Springboks.
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Latest Comments
Cane shouldn’t have been one last year, based purely on performances. Lakai is as close to a like for like of swap of Savea you’re ever likely to find, based on his short career so far at least. He has many of the same qualities - very strong ball carrier, great at the breakdown, and an absolute work horse on defence. I feel like he and Sititi could lead the way in the loose at the next WC.
I think we have become obsessed with replacing Kaino with someone exactly like him. Kaino was a perfect foil for the other loose forwards we had at the time. Based on the talent we have around at the moment those players could be made up in the aggregate by three players who are all exception all rounders - Lakai, Sititi, and Savea. Missing some height for sure but Sititi’s defensive work in the line out last year was phenomenal. He gets off the ground so quickly and was able to steal a couple of balls off the top of the springbok line out.
If our young locks coming through can actually stay fit long enough to get selected, it seems inevitable that Va’ai could end up in a hybrid 6/lock role.
Go to commentsWas strange game, full of errors and the usual refereeing decisions. Both teams suffered as a result but Ospreys discipline was a major factor. I think this weekend will be different as the Ospreys will pick a full strength team but Scarlets will gain confidence in the fact that only Tipuric was missing in the forwards and they dominated that pack for the whole 80 minutes. If they can repeat that dominance at scrum and breakdown then the Scarlets backs will always have more to offer on the front foot.
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