Bayonne won their first match and lost their captain in the same quarter of an hour. Scrum-half, the position where the club invested most this summer, is now the thinnest.

Two minutes forty-five

Léo Coly played two minutes and forty-five seconds of his first competitive match for Aviron Bayonnais. The 26-year-old scrum-half, who arrived from Montpellier this summer and was named captain, intercepted a Mathieu Smaïli pass with his left foot, set off on the counter and pulled up sharply, hand on his left hamstring. Lineout coach Jean Monribot spoke of a muscle injury without putting a timeframe on it.

Baptiste Tilloles came on in his place. He played the remaining seventy-five minutes, and Bayonne won 27-26.

Ten Top 14 matches at 19

Tilloles turned 19 last November. He is no unknown quantity: he has ten Top 14 matches to his name, nine of them last season with two starts, and five European matches, two in the Challenge Cup and three in the Champions Cup.

His international record is even fuller. Sixteen matches for France U20 in two seasons: four in the Six Nations then four at the World Championship in 2024-2025, three in the Six Nations and five at the World Championship in 2025-2026. Thirteen of them as a starter.

The third number 9 has not played since May

On paper, Bayonne have three scrum-halves in their Top 14 squad. The third is Herschel Jantjies, the South Africa international who joined from the Stormers in 2025. His first season in the Basque Country was a full one: sixteen Top 14 matches, eight starts, 806 minutes, plus four European matches.

But he has not worn the Bayonne shirt since 30 May, at Jean-Bouin. His only appearance since was on 18 July, off the bench for South Africa against Wales. He was not on the team sheet against Toulon, and Sud Ouest counted only one fit number 9 in the squad on Saturday.

Bayonne travel to Pau next Saturday for Round 2.