Castres No.8 Tulou pulls out of Beziers move, confirming new Top 14 club on social

Destructive Castres No.8 Alex Tulou will not sign for ProD2 Beziers, as widely reported upon in France.

The back row will in fact for sign for Lyon, also confounding rumours linking him with a move to Clermont Auvergne.

The 33-year-old will take up a one year contract with LOU, where he will join returning centre cum No.8 Matthieu Bastareaud.

The 6’3, 114kg forward has enjoyed five years at Castres, prior to which he spent four years with Montpellier and Bourgain before that.

“Blessed and honored to have signed with the Lyon LOU Rugby Club. It’s awesome to return to the region where i started my French Top 14 career 10 years ago with Bourgain,” Tulou wrote on Instagram.

 

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Blessed and honored to have signed with the Lyon LOU Rugby Club @lourugby1896 it’s awesome to return to the region where i started my French Top 14 career 10 years ago with @csbj_rugby_officiel. Massive thanks to our friends @yazid_0708 and @pierre.anglade.7 for all your hard work and support. And my wife @kyla_tulou for your support #family Looking foward to joining the boys and staff! #Proverbs16:9 Je suis tre?s heureux et be?ni d’avoir signe? avec Le LOU @lourugby1896 et de pouvoir retourner dans la re?gion ou? je commencer ma carrie?re en Top 14 avec le @csbj_rugby_officiel, un grand merci a?mis @pierre.anglade.7 et @yazid_0708 pour votre travaille et soutien. #famille je ha?te de de?buter au sein de mon nouvelle e?quipe et ville. #TYL #Proverbes16:9 #LOU #TeamLou ??? ??????

A post shared by Alex Tulou (@alex_tulou08) on Jul 25, 2020 at 2:14am PDT

Although not entirely clear, it is quite possible his previously reported move to Beziers was contingent on the club being bought out by the UAE investors. Two weeks ago investors at the centre of a bid to takeover Beziers pulled out after French rugby’s accounting watch-dog rejected their approach, ending the ProD2 club’s dreams of expansion. The DNACG, the French game’s financial enforcement body, decided that the criteria for takeover hadn’t been met.

Once a New Zealand Sevens representative, Tulou has forged a career in France as a hard carrying, metre eating No.8 specialist.