At the end of the 2025/26 season, US Carcassonne were relegated to Nationale. Lukas Doyhenard, a centre trained at Aviron Bayonnais, held a clause allowing him to leave the club and wanted to continue his career in Pro D2, with a preference for returning to his home region of the Basque Country. Activrep was already working on positioning his profile during the season and acted through an introduction mandate for Biarritz Olympique.
The relegation came in a particularly competitive market. Players released by relegated clubs simultaneously joined the pool of other available profiles, at a time when Pro D2 squads were already largely built. Added to this market pressure was the need to separate Lukas's individual performance from the collective difficulties faced by his team. The challenge was therefore enabling clubs to assess the player on his own level and his ability to continue his career in Pro D2.
Activrep began discussing Lukas's profile during the season, even before Carcassonne's relegation was mathematically confirmed, given Lukas held a release clause. As soon as it was confirmed, clubs were informed of his availability and his wish to continue in Pro D2. Three clubs expressed interest, including Biarritz Olympique. Discussions with BOPB then moved the opportunity forward through to negotiation and the finalisation of the signing.
Lukas Doyhenard joined Biarritz Olympique for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons. Trained at Aviron Bayonnais, he thus returned to the Basque Country after several seasons away from his home region, while continuing his career in Pro D2.
A team's relegation does not define the individual value of its players. In a saturated market, the work consists of enabling clubs to distinguish a player's performance from his team's collective result.