Argentina star Mateo Carreras to leave Newcastle Falcons at end of season and move to Bayonne

Argentina winger Mateo Carreras will leave Newcastle Falcons at the end of the 2023-24 Gallagher Premiership season to join French Top-14 side Bayonne.

Carreras played a starring role for his country at the World Cup as Los Pumas made it to the semi-finals before narrowly losing to England in the third-place play-off match.

The 23-year-old is in his third season at Kingston Park and the club have announced it will be his last in Falcons colours before he starts the next chapter of his career with Bayonne.

“Mateo is an outstanding talent who has naturally attracted significant interest on the back of his performances for Newcastle and Argentina,” Falcons head coach Alex Codling said on the club website.

“He arrived here as a talented young man who had played hardly any professional 15-a-side rugby, and he will leave as one of the best wingers in the world.

“That is due to his own ability and hard work as well as the guidance and support he has received at the club, and we will wish him well when he departs in the summer.

“We are naturally disappointed to be losing such a fantastic player and we will always do our best to retain our top talent, but Mateo has been professional and transparent throughout the entire process.

“He still has a massive role to play for The Falcons between now and the end of the season, and I know he will approach it with his usual diligence and positivity.”

Carreras joined Newcastle ahead of the 2021-22 Premiership season and has since made 37 appearances, scoring 16 tries in that time.

His tally of 13 tries last season was bettered only by the 15 scored by Harlequins’ Cadan Murley.

The winger has only played one game for Newcastle this campaign having just returned from World Cup duty with Argentina, where he scored three tries and earned plenty of plaudits for his performances.

He admitted that he will “miss the place and the people” but vowed to give everything to help The Falcons recover from a poor start that has them rooted to the bottom of the table.

“I want to thank Newcastle Falcons and the club’s supporters for welcoming me to North East England and making my stay here so enjoyable,” Carreras said.

“Newcastle has been my home for three years and I will really miss the place and the people when I move on in the summer.

“The Falcons have played a massive part in my rugby journey and I’m looking forward to giving my all during the time I have left here.

“My only focus is on being the best player and team-mate I can be between now and the end of this season, and I really appreciate the backing from all our supporters.”

Newcastle travel to take on Sale Sharks next as they look for their first win.

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