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Springbok Botha agrees Pro D2 move

Arno Botha of Lyon during the EPCR European Challenge Cup rugby match between Stade Francais Paris and Lyon OU (LOU) at Stade Jean Bouin on April 1, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
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Former South Africa flanker Arno Botha has signed for Pro D2 outfit Nevers ahead of next season.

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The 34-year-old will make the move north west from Lyon when the Top 14 season draws to a close, signing on a two-year deal.

Botha made the move to Lyon in 2022 following two years at the Bulls, in what was his second stint in Pretoria after starting his career there. It was during his first stint at the Bulls that the flanker earned his two Springboks caps in 2013.

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He made the move to London Irish in 2018 before a two-season spell at Munster, where he played alongside current Nevers prop Keynan Knox.

Given how the Pro D2 promotion format works, Botha could well be playing in the Top 14 next season. While Nevers are currently sitting in ninth place in the league, three places off the top six that go into the play-offs, they are only three points behind sixth-place Aurillac, with over half the season to play.

Fixture
Top 14
Lyon
19 - 41
Full-time
Toulouse
All Stats and Data

Lyon, meanwhile, sit in 12th place in the Top 14 with 23 points, but they are in no danger of being dragged into a relegation battle, as Montauban, in 13th, trail them by 13 points, and Perpignan are 22 points behind at the foot of the table.

Karim Ghezal’s side are fresh from the opening rounds of their Challenge Cup campaign, where they suffered losses against Dragons and Newcastle Red Bulls, who are both yet to register a win in their respective leagues, the United Rugby Championship and the Gallagher PREM.

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Botha did not feature in the round one loss to the Red Bulls, but featured from the bench the following week against Dragons.

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Nickers 38 minutes ago
All Blacks to field new starting winger and converted flanker against Ireland

He didnt play well there which is why the experiment was ended. There are only so many games you play someone who is not performing the basics of their role. Taking out our best lock to be an underperforming flanker makes no sense. It’s a double negative. He’s mobile for a lock. But he’s not mobile for a loose forward. He’s slow for a loose forward and it shows against certain opponents. The ABs can’t out-south Africa or out-France either of those teams, but we can out-all black anyone. The combination of missing him at lock and having him in the loose forwards will make us worse than we could be while that is happening. He will move to lock after 40/50 minutes, and we will have 3 loosies in the field and everything will look better as a result. Ardie, Sititi, Lakai, Segner, and Jacobson are our best loose forwards and they are all super versatile. We have no requirement to turn our premier lock into a flanker. Maybe 33 yo Frizzell will slot back in to the World Cup team seamlessly, but more likely his best years are behind him and all of those mentioned are better options. Barrett actually had a great game at 6 - in the first test against Ireland I think? But injuries meant he had to go back to lock. Then Frizzell emerged. But that was a different team playing a different style. Had it not been for the lock injuries I think he was first choice at 6 for Foster rather than abandoned experiment. But he has been injured so much since the last World Cup he’s never really got back to full fitness.

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