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Lyon resigned to losing Davit Niniashvili to Top 14 rivals - report

Davit Niniashvili of Georgia leaves the field after being issued a yellow card during the International Test Match between Australia Wallabies and Georgia at Allianz Stadium on July 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Lyon have accepted that they are likely to lose Georgia fullback Davit Niniashvili at the end of the season, with La Rochelle emerging as frontrunners to sign the 22-year-old, according to French outlet Midi Olympique.

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With a staggering list of 24 players whose contracts are set to expire at the end of the current season, the Georgian is one who is expected to slip through the net, with the report saying both Toulon and Toulouse eyeing the rising star of the international game.

Ronan O’Gara is currently looking for a long-term successor to 34-year-old Brice Dulin in the La Rochelle No15 jersey, and after missing out on Stade Francais fullback Leo Barre recently, they may have turned their attention to Niniashvili and appear to be leading the race to sign him.

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      Having joined Lyon in 2021 as a teenager, Niniashvili will qualify as a JIFF player from next year, making him a more attractive target for clubs in the Top 14.

      “We made an offer to Davit that seems very good to us, but beyond which we will not go because in our eyes, no player is superior to the institution,” Lyon president Yann Roubert said to Midi Olympique (translated by Google).

      Fixture
      Top 14
      Lyon
      28 - 26
      Full-time
      Bordeaux
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      “He knows what he can get with us, not necessarily what can await him elsewhere. If he has to stay in Lyon, we want it to be for good reasons.”

      Lyon are not going to see all their stars depart at the end of the season though, and have already tied down France scrumhalf Baptiste Couilloud until 2030.

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      Niniashvili started on the wing as Lyon got their Top 14 campaign underway with a 22-26 victory over Montpellier on the road. They will return home for round two, with a visit to the Stade de Gerland from Bordeaux-Begles.

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      J
      JW 1 hour ago
      'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

      Well a) poor French results doesn’t seem to effect the situation much. In fact one of the reasons given for this selection policy is that the French don’t tune in for foreign rugby content on the other side of the world, at a time when theyre not having their vino. So who would know the results? And b) this is the crux of the matter, they are legally abided to play them as part of WRs tier 1 reciprocal tours programme. The only real choice for the SH team is to treat it the same, which is fine when teams are happy to do that, but the AB’s have a totally anthesis policy/mentality so would never use the games in the same way.


      So alligned with b) the only real option is to complain to those in control. I suspect that’s why weve seen France reneging on the practice, and you can only be left to think that if they hadn’t reneged, WR would have done something more drastic about it. Which of course would mean not just telling them to bugger off when they want to tour, it’s no one playing them (from t1 at least) at all (assuming they have no interest in scheduling match’s outside the windows, like Ireland and NZ are doing).


      Then of course that means no involvement of France in the Nations Championship. Which means they are automatically the last ranked team in 6N to qualify, so the actual worst team in 6N gets to compete in it, making a mockery of the promotion and relegation WR wanted to happen between T1 and T2 for qualifying purposes. Yup, b) is just something nobody wants to happen. Well done FFR and LNR for making the tour work instead (how well is yet to be seen).

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