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6 more Lions players - including Farrell - make Premiership return

(Photo by Getty Images)

Six more of Warren Gatland’s Lions tour picks, including England skipper Owen Farrell, have been chosen by their Premiership clubs this weekend for an earlier than initially anticipated return to action. England players who were away with the Lions were all entitled to have a five-week holiday break following the August 7 last match of the tour in Cape Town and a four-week pre-season before becoming eligible to play again. They were also to have a separate week’s rest prior to the autumn internationals.

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If that nine-week stipulation was applied across the board, players would have been off-limits in the Premiership until the weekend of October 16. However, a variety of negotiations have taken place between all the various stakeholders and the length of the break is now being applied on a player-by-player basis.

Bristol and Bath announced on Thursday that Kyle Sinckler and Anthony Watson (as a sub) would both be involved in this Friday night’s derby match at Ashton Gate and it has now emerged that six more Lions will now also feature in this weekend’s Premiership round three.

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Ollie Phillips guests on the latest RugbyPass Offload

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Ollie Phillips guests on the latest RugbyPass Offload

Newly promoted Saracens have a Saturday afternoon assignment at Leicester and they have included Farrell, who played twice off the Lions Test bench in South Africa, and hooker Jamie George at hooker. Farrell’s inclusion will create much intrigue as the England skipper will go head-to-head at out-half against his national team colleague George Ford.

Elsewhere, Northampton have included both Courtney Lawes and Dan Biggar for their home game with London Irish. Lawes will start from the bench but Wales out-half Biggar will wear the Saints No10 shirt. The regulations surrounding non-England Lions players who play for Premiership clubs were different from the England Lions as they were only entitled to just the five-week holiday.

That would theoretically have freed Northampton to play Biggar in round one of the league season but they held off until this weekend’s round three, as did Exeter who have chosen Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg at full-back for their trip on Sunday to Sale. Gloucester, meanwhile, have included Scottish Lion Chris Harris on their bench versus Worcester. Of the eight players back in action this weekend just two – Biggar and Lawes – featured in the series-deciding third Lions Test.

Of Hogg, Exeter boss Rob Baxter said on Thursday: “He looks real motivated, looks really sharp in training this week,” said the Chiefs boss at his weekly media briefing. “I spoke to him at the start of the week and said, ‘Right Hoggy, how are you feeling, are you ready to go?’ ‘Yeah, ready to go. Feel really good.’”

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GrahamVF 2 hours ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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