Teddy Thomas' belated Racing 92 exit reported in France

Reports in the South of France suggest that Teddy Thomas will leave Racing 92 at the end of the current season to sign with Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle.

Rumours that the France international wanted out of Paris started last season, with reports linking him to a move to Toulouse back in February, but it seems the yellow and blacks on the west coast have won the race to sign the try scoring phenom.

The previous Toulouse deal had also been forecast as a ‘done deal’ until an apparent last-minute change of heart on the part of Thomas and Racing. Headlines at the time claimed that the capital side did not wish to renew his contract. “According to our information, Racing has decided not to renew the contract of its international winger Teddy Thomas which expires next June,” L’Equipe reported the time.

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Nevertheless, according to information from Sud Ouest, Thomas is set to join La Rochelle on a three-year deal. It will bring to an end an eight-year stint at the Parisian side.

The 28-year-old started his professional career at Biarritz before transferring to Jacky Lorenzetti’s resurgent Racing in 2012. The versatile back has now been capped 28-times by France and is one of Fabien Galthié’s major attacking weapons in this year’s Guinness Six Nations.

What is behind the parting of the proven try scorer and the club where he made his career remains unclear. It’s quite the coup for Les Maritimes, who signed fellow France centre Jonathan Danty from Racing over the summer.