It had been in the pipeline for many weeks. Agreement, no agreement.. The situation around Grégory Patat‘s future was murky. As of Friday, it is crystal clear. The Bayonne manager has extended his contract until 2028 and was all smiles alongside president Philippe Tayeb.

Back in September, an agreement had been reached between the two parties. Confirmation, though, was slow in coming. Having arrived in the Basque Country in 2022, the Gers native guided Aviron to a historic semi-final last season against Toulouse, 42 years after the club’s last top-flight semi.

Nothing but good news

As a reminder, internal tensions had emerged after the arrival of Laurent Travers as director of rugby. Travers has a more cross-cutting role at the club, while Grégory Patat handles matters on the pitch.

The news comes a few hours after the announcement of the contract extension of loosehead prop Andy Bordelai. At Bayonne, on the pitch and off it, everything seems to be going swimmingly.