Debut: Vs Warrington Wolves (A) 16/02/2023

Honours:

Leeds Rhinos confirmed the signing of French international forward Justin Sangare ahead of the 2023 Betfred Super League season.

The 6’4” prop played 70 games for Toulouse Olympique having come through the club’s development programme. He made his debut for the club in 2016 when he was just 17 and made six appearances off the bench that season in League One.

The following year he made three starts and eight appearances as a replacement, with nine appearances off the bench in 2018, scoring four tries. The following year he earned a call up to the French national side for their tour to Australia, which included featuring in the World Nines in Sydney. In 2021, he was a mainstay of the Toulouse Olympique side which finally secured promotion to Super League, making 13 appearances and scoring ten tries in the process.

During his debut Super League campaign, Sangare was one of the club's top performers as he appeared 23 times for Olympique, who were subsequently relegated at the climax of the season. In addition to his club form, Sangare scored for France off the bench against England in Perpignan in 2022, and was also selected for France's World Cup squad.

Arriving at the Rhinos, Sangare's try in his first appearance against Warrington quickly put the forward amongst the fan favourites as he featured 18 times in blue and amber. A foot injury suffered against Leigh ended his campaign prematurely, but his one-year contract extension means that fans get to see more of Sangare until at least the end of 2025.