Rob Leota joins growing list of Wallaby back rows heading north

Australia and New South Wales Waratahs back row Rob Leota has signed for the Top 14’s Bayonne ahead of next season, becoming the latest Wallaby to head to Europe before the British and Irish Lions series.

The 21-cap Wallaby will finish his debut season with the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific before joining the Basque outfit, who currently sit in fourth place in France’s top division.

The deal will run for two years, meaning he could return to Australia ahead of the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

The 28-year-old is not the Wallaby back row to be leaving Super Rugby at the end of the season. He will butt heads with his current loose forward team-mate Langi Gleeson in France next season, who has agreed to join Montpellier.

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Fellow Australian back row Tom Hooper is also set to swap the Brumbies for the Gallagher Premiership’s Exeter Chiefs next season. He will arrive in Devon with Reds and Wallabies centre Len Ikitau, whose move was announced this week.

After experiencing an injury-blighted 2024, the former Melbourne Rebels captain Leota made the move to the Waratahs ahead of the new season following the Rebels’ demise. He has featured heavily for his new club this campaign, however, where the Waratahs sit in sixth place after nine matches.

The move will see Leota reunite with his former Rebels and Wallabies team-mate Reece Hodge in the southwest of France. Hodge has spent the last two seasons at the Stade Jean-Dauger, where he is currently the only Australian on their roster.