Wales international Lee Byrne, 30, has signed a three-year deal to join French champions Clermont Auvergne from next season.

Byrne, who will expect to be named in Wales' 2011 RWC squad, becomes the country's second major star to sign up for Top 14 duty in the past fortnight, following club colleague James Hook's earlier decision to join Perpignan.

Top 14 League Table 2010/11

Full-back Byrne still had one more season left to run on his Ospreys contract, but the region decided to cash in on Clermont's interest after the French champions offered a compensation transfer fee.

"This was too good an opportunity for me to turn down at this stage of my career and I'm excited about what the future holds," explained Byrne.

The former Llanelli Scarlets player has been capped 38 times by Wales.

Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy described Byrne's decision to leave as "extremely disappointing", adding that the club had turned down a similar offer for the player last season.

"But unfortunately, the circumstances are such that we now find ourselves in this position where we have reluctantly agreed to release Lee, given his desire to take on a fresh challenge following the Rugby World Cup later this year," said Cuddy.

Byrne's decision to join Clermont is the second major transfer coup for the French champions in a matter of days, following the weekend confirmation that Stade Toulousain fly-half David Skrela will also be joining on a three-year contract from next season.

Top 14 Transfers 2010/11

'Les Jaunards' further announced on Tuesday they had captured another player from Welsh rugby, with former All Blacks international Regan King signing from Llanelli Scarlets. The once-capped centre previously had a short spell with Stade Francais prior to moving to Wales in 2002.

King, 30, said he left Scarlets with a heavy heart after making 135 appearances for the region, but that he was now relishing the chance to return to France.

"At this stage in my career the offer from France was one that was right for me and my family, and I felt that it's probably time to move on," he explained.

And the current French champions completed a busy week on the transfer front by further announcing the capture of Brive's Gerhard Vosloo and Castres' Benjamin Kayser. Thirty-one-year-old Vosloo has agreed a three year deal and said his motivating factor had been to play for a club which challenges for the Top 14 title, while former Stade Francais hooker Kayser, 26, has signed for four years.

Montpellier have also been busy on the transfer front with head coach Fabien Galthié signing five new players after securing the contracts of all his current stars.

Chief among his new signings is Bayonne back-rower Rémy Martin, who he coached while at Stade Francais, while others joining the Mediterranean side include Bayonne's Jean-Baptiste Peyras (26), Clermont's Argentine hooker Agustin Creevy (25), Leicester Tigers winger Lucas Amorosino and Castres' Yoan Audrin (29). Peyras, Creevy and Amorosino have all signed two year contracts, with Martin and Audrin agreeing three-year deals.

In other news Bayonne continue to rebuild for the 2011/12 season, with the latest development seeing South Africa's World Cup winning coach Jake White fly in for talks.

White is reportedly over in France to discuss the possibility of becoming head coach at the Basque club next season, after being invited over by Bayonne's recently appointed director of rugby Bernard Laporte.

White's agent Craig Livingstone confirmed the coach was meeting Bayonne representatives, adding that he was "exploring his options for the next season and beyond".

Elsewhere, Biarritz have confirmed that former England centre Ayoola Erinle will leave the club after failing to make a single appearance for them this season. The 30-year-old has had a dramatic fall from grace after playing well enough to earn international recognition last season.

Leading scorers in Top 14 2010/11

SU Agen, meanwhile, have signed Toulon's South African lock Dewald Senekal with immediate effect. The 30-year-old has agreed a short-term contract until the end of the current season to cover for long-term injury absentees Thibault Lassalle and Cyril Chavet.

Senekal, who can also play in the back row, arrived at Toulon with Super 14 experience from his previous clubs the Cheetahs and Lions.

Confirmed Transfers For 2011/12

In:
SU Agen: Dewald Senekal (from Toulon)
Clermont Auvergne: Lee Byrne (from Ospreys); David Skrela (from Stade Toulousain); Regan King (from Llanelli Scarlets); Gerhard Vosloo (Brive); Benjamin Kayser (Castres)
Montpellier: Rémy Martin (Bayonne), Agustin Creevy (Clermont Auvergne), Lucas Amorosino (Leicester Tigers), Yoan Audrin (Castres), Jean-Baptiste Peyras (Bayonne)
Perpignan: James Hook (from Ospreys)

Out:
Biarritz: Ayoola Erinle, Fabien Alexandre (to Grenoble)
Castres: Cameron McIntyre
Stade Toulousain: Byron Kelleher