Wallaby great’s son rejects Australia, England in favour of Italy

Harlequins have announced that Louis Lynagh will be leaving the club at the end of the season to pursue his international ambitions of playing for Italy.

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The star wing is the son of former Wallabies captain Michael Lynagh, is still uncapped at international level and is thus eligible to play for three nations: England, Australia, Italy.

He qualifies for England based on residency, for the Wallabies via his famous Australian father and for Italy via his Italian mother as well as his own birth.

But given the announcement of his move from English club Harlequins to Italian side Benetton, it’s clear that Lynagh junior’s ultimate goal is to play Test rugby for Italy. This decision comes despite having previously been included in an England training squad in 2021.

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LYNAGH: THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THIS MOVE

“It’s been a difficult decision to leave my boyhood club, but the time is right for a new challenge,” he said.

Lynagh joined Quins as an under-13 and has scored 27 tries in 58 senior appearances since making his debut in 2019.

Six of those tries came in 11 matches in a breakout 2020-21 campaign in which he scored twice in the Premiership final to help his side claim the title.

Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard told the club website: “We have been proud to see Louis develop from our academy to the first team.

“He has certainly had some great moments in his short career to date. We’re excited to watch his career develop further at Benetton and potentially for Italy.”

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