Jonathan Joseph, the former England centre, bid farewell to Bath after a decade-long tenure and has now embarked on a new chapter in his career by joining Biarritz, a French second division team.
The 32-year-old, renowned for his accomplishments with the British and Irish Lions, has committed to Biarritz until 2025 by signing a contract.
Having initially joined Bath in 2013 from London Irish, Joseph accumulated an impressive record of 176 appearances for the club, during which he scored a total of 41 tries. However, his opportunities diminished in the previous season following the appointment of director of rugby Johann van Graan, with Joseph only featuring in 13 games.
With 54 international caps for England, Joseph’s last appearance for the national team occurred in 2020. Notably, he was also a pivotal member of the 2017 Lions squad that embarked on a tour of New Zealand.
“I have many fond memories in the blue, black and white. Playing at The Rec in front of a sold-out crowd is not something every rugby player can say they’ve done,” Joseph said in a statement.
“But to have done it over and over again is just testament to the Bath rugby supporters’ loyalty as well as my coaches’ belief in me.
“I feel it is the right time for me in my career to pursue new opportunities and see what else is out there for me.”
Van Graan added that Joseph would be considered a Bath “legend” for years to come.
“He has achieved a huge amount in both his club career and on a Test match level,” he said.
“More expansive rugby” – Nigel Owens wants five law changes for Rugby World Cup
Popular referee Nigel Owens says rugby’s new Laws are NOT working to improve the game.
Owens, who hung up his whistle two years ago, has come up with five possible changes to encourage expansive rugby.
#1. Scrap the goal-line dropout
Owens wrote: “As for goal-line dropouts, I was a big fan initially because I felt it would prevent attacking teams from numerous pick-and-gos near the try line, with teams instead attempting to move the ball wide to avoid being held up and losing possession. But I’m not sure it has worked as planned. We still see plenty of pick-and-gos until teams get over, we still see plenty of mauls and the number of collisions hasn’t decreased.
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“We are also seeing fewer scrums near the goal line, and to be honest I’m not sure that is a good thing. The scrum needs to be an important part of the game, and right now we are not seeing the benefits of it. Rugby must continue to be a game for all shapes and sizes, and at all levels, too.
Attacking teams are also kicking longer knowing that if the ball rolls dead, the defending team has to do a goal-line dropout and they can get the ball back. We’ve also lost the short dropouts we used to see from the 22-metre line where teams would compete to win the ball back, or a quick dropout would be taken, because teams now backed up on their goal line just kick the ball long to escape and what happens? The opposition kick it back.
“From initially believing it would work, I would now like the goal-line dropout law to go to be honest. If anything it is having a negative effect.”