Harlequins have bolstered their forward ranks next season by signing Argentinian international Guido Petti from Union Bordeaux-Bègles on a three-year contract.
Petti, who has 87 caps for Los Pumas, landed on the French west coast in 2020 having begun his professional career with the now-defunct Jaguares, the Super Rugby franchise, in Argentina, but will be a Harlequin from the beginning of next season.
The 30-year-old is primarily a second row but he has appeared at both blindside and openside for Bordeaux in his five-year stint, with his versatility across the back five of the scrum adding to his value.
Bordeaux currently sit atop the French Top 14 – having lost to Toulouse in last season’s grand final – and the capturing of Petti’s signature from a big-spending, high-flying French club marks a major coup for both Harlequins and the wider Premiership as a whole.
Irné Herbst, the South African lock who joined Quins in 2022, is understood to be joining up with Courtney Lawes in Brive next season – who currently compete in the second tier of French rugby – with Petti coming in as somewhat of a replacement. Kieran Treadwell, the Ulster second row with 11 caps for Ireland who began his career with Harlequins, is also reportedly returning to south-west London.
Stephan Lewies, Joe Launchbury, George Hammond and Dino Lamb comprise the rest of Harlequins’s second-row options but the latter has been linked with a move to Perpignan in the French Top 14.
Petti featured in both of Argentina’s defeats against England at last year’s World Cup – once off the bench and once starting – and started in Los Pumas’ first-ever victory over New Zealand in 2020. When Argentina defeated the All Blacks once again in 2022, Petti came off the bench. The 30-year-old is a veteran of three World Cups.
