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Oyonnax have confirmed the recruitment of Iñaki Ayarza on a two-year-deal. In doing so, the Pro D2 club has bought out the player from his existing contract; Ayarza signed a long-term deal with Vannes in 2024 that saw him under contract with the club until 2028.
 OYONNAX SIGN AYARZA |
Before attention turns to the 2026-2027 season, the Oyonnax club is looking to bolster its player roster. This sees the signing of a player in the prime of his career, Chilean Iñaki Ayarza. The Cóndor who stands at 1.86m tall and weighs 102kg is 26-years-old.
Due to having arrived in France from Chile young enough, Ayarza is a JIFF (Joueur Issu de la Filière Formation / Player of French Formation) player. Qualifying as a JIFF requires a player to spend five years playing age-grade rugby at any FFR-affiliated club, or three seasons with a French professional club’s academy by the age of 23.
Ayarza was at the Bayonne academy for three years (2018-2021) before joining Soyaux-Angoulême XV Charente (2021-2024) and Vannes (2024-2026).
Vannes are seemingly unstoppable en route to a return to the Top 14. Ayarza has been busy playing for the club, receiving good game time in the mid-field. The Chilean was a try scorer for Vannes last weekend in the team’s big win over Aurillac.
With two rounds remaining in the regular season of the Pro D2, Oyonnax are in 5th position. This means that, like Vannes, Oyonnax is on track to appear in the play-off’s for an opportunity to earn promotion back to the Top 14.
 AYARZA’S CARRER – CHILE |
The utility value of Ayarza has demonstrably seen him moving around the backline for both club and country. He started at fullback for Chile at Rugby World Cup 2023 and has also featured in both center positions and on the wing as a professional player.
In terms of overall statistics, when combining club and country activities, Ayarza has played 50% of the time at center, 38% on the wing and 12% at fullback. The center and wing positions can be broken down further to show Inside Centre 30%, Outside Centre 20% and Right Wing 24%, Left Wing 14%.
In announcing Ayarza’s recruitment, Oyonnax noted that Soyaux-Angoulême XV launched his career, with Ayarza playing a total of 59 matches for the club and scoring 11 tries. His time at Vannes has seen 16 appearances thus far.
Ayarza has 27 test caps for Chile. He made his test debut for Los Cóndores in 2019 against Paraguay. He is well-placed to represent Chile in a second Rugby World Cup. Chile face Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand in Pool A at Rugby World Cup 2027.
