Mathieu Bastareaud moved into the pack
Mathieu Bastareaud during RBS Six Nations Rugby Championship, Italia v Francia at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, on march 16, 2019 (Photo by Silvia Loré/Sipa USA)
Ex-France centre Mathieu Bastareaud will start Lyon’s pre-season encounter against Grenoble at number eight after discussions with the coaching staff.
The 30-year-old has moved to the Top 14 outfit on a short-term deal before he joins Rugby United New York for the 2020 campaign.
Bastareaud is renowned for his power in close quarters and his ability at the contact area, which has led to him being selected in the pack.
“With [head coach] Pierre (Mignoni), we discussed the possibility of playing at number eight,” he told reporters last month.
“I told him that I was not close to playing in that position. On the contrary, since we are talking about change, why not continue! It can also be exciting to take on this challenge over this period. After that, I think I still have a lot of work to perform at this key position. But we will try!”
The former Stade Francais and Toulon player was left out of the France squad for the World Cup and duly retired from international duty.
However, that opened the opportunity for him to sign for a club on a short-term contract and Lyon announced in July that he had joined as a ‘World Cup joker.’