How three years in France shaped the Brumbies’ giant 203cm recruit

It was September 28, 2023, when a lock named Aiden Stait jumped on a video call with RugbyPass to speak about life in a French rugby academy. That interview went for about 22 minutes, as the young Aussie opened up about his already unique career.

Stait never got the chance to debut for Bayonne in the Top 14 but still took plenty out of the three-year opportunity to train and live in the Basque Country, before sealing a return home to Australia with one of the “best rugby teams in the world.”

The ACT Brumbies announced on August 3, 2026, that Stait had committed to a three-year deal with the Super Rugby Pacific outfit, linking up with the squad ahead of Super Rugby AUS. It’s a move that happened quickly, with the Aussie leaving some big items behind in France.

Bayonne and Stait had come to an agreement that it wasn’t looking likely the second-rower would stay on with the club. The Aussie then returned home for a standard four-week trip home to see family, with every intention of returning to France.

But when the chance to link up with the Brumbies came up, it wasn’t one that Stait was going to pass up. The 22-year-old, who stands at 203 centimetres tall and weighs about 130 kilograms, left behind his car, a few TVs and an aircon, but has no regrets.

“When they reached out, it was like, righto, let’s get in the car and drive down to Canberra straight away because it was an opportunity I was never giving up,” Stait told RugbyPass, 1,048 days since last getting on a call with this same writer.

“Every morning I wake up, I pinch myself, I snap into reality. It is unreal. I would never, ever, ever have pictured myself being where I am right now.

“Being a leaguie I always just saw myself playing for Bathurst St Pats at home… I had dead set never thought of it. It’s the stuff you dream. Being a kid watching on TV, even being a leaguie, you’re always watching some kind of footy.

“Dead set is a dream come true. Being a local Bathurst boy, everyone says Canberra is just a bigger Bathurst and it’s just like home. I love it here.”

Bathurst-born Stait comes from a rugby league background, having spent time with the St George Illawarra Dragons SG Ball team before switching to rugby union. An opportunity with the NSW Waratahs Academy came about, before pursuing the move to Bayonne.

It’s not unheard of for young Australian rugby players to commit to deals in France, with recent Wallabies debutant Miles Amatosero an example. Amatosero spent time with Clermont before returning home, now with the NSW Waratahs and the national team.

Les Bleus prop Moses Alo-Emile went to Brisbane State High School but debuted at Test level against the Wallabies last month at Suncorp Stadium, which is about three kilometres from the prestigious GPS school in South Bank.

Alo-Emile was named that day in the run-on side alongside Ipswich Grammar School graduate Emmanuel Meafou, and former Australia U20 skipper Tom Staniforth was on the bench.

But there’s a common theme here.

“There weren’t many teams out there that recruited backs internationally,” Stait said.

“I remember talking to one of the French boys in my first year and he was like, ‘We don’t sign international backs, we’ve got French backs. But for forwards, we sign international forwards.’ That’s when I knew, righto, they mean business over here. Their game is built on forwards.

“There were plenty of times where we played a big pack and you couldn’t match it with them.

“I learned that all rugby is different. I went over thinking it’s just rugby, it’s going to be the same as Sydney, same as the [Australian] game, but I quickly had to readjust because that’s not what it was,” he explained.

“The level of game, the difference of the game… I noticed that the French love the argy bargy stuff, the brutal rugby. Here, you’ve got a lot of set-piece stuff; it’s quicker. You’ve got to move more, you’ve got to be switched on.”

Stait had been training with the Brumbies for about one month now, working alongside capped Wallaby Nick Frost in the second row contingent, and former Australia captain Ben Mowen, who is part of the coaching staff.

The towering lock has a clear focus after linking up with the team:  “I want to be a real lock. I don’t want to be half a lock.” To do that, Stait is looking to become a trusted lineout option, rather than just a powerful ball-carrier off the set-piece.

“Looking back on those three years, every time the Wallabies played I was trying to watch. I was watching Frosty, I was watching all those boys run around.

“You’re sitting there watching the game and you’re like, ‘Geez, one day I hope that’s me. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.’

“Now to even be training with Frosty – he’s been so good to me. I’ve been there a month now and we’re working on body height and getting up in the lineouts. It’s a pinch-me moment. I still can’t believe it.”