This weekend’s return of the Gallagher Premiership following a five-week hibernation was given its banner headline on Wednesday when Joe Marler confirmed he will retire from playing with immediate effect following Friday night’s Harlequins match at home to Bristol.
Round six of the Gallagher Premiership promises to deliver another thrilling weekend of action, with teams looking to solidify their positions ahead of a break before the Test rugby returns in November.
Twenty-eight of the 36 players named by Steve Borthwick in the England squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series will start for their clubs in this weekend’s Gallagher Premiership.
With England versus New Zealand on the November 2 horizon and Steve Borthwick poised to name his Test squad on Wednesday for the four-game Autum Nations Series, a number of leading candidates have been pencilled in for some timely club action.
There are just four weeks to go before the All Blacks arrive at Allianz Stadium on November 2, so players will be vying to impress.
The Gallagher Premiership table after round one highlighted how you can get strange quirks in this game, defending champions Northampton finding themselves at the bottom 16 weeks after they lifted the trophy at Twickenham.
Forbes returned to New Zealand in 2023 after two and half seasons in Scotland with the Glasgow Warriors. He’s proved to be a revelation.
Glasgow Warriors have signed former New Zealand Under-20s player Cole Forbes on a multi-year deal following a successful trial at the club.
Without All Blacks playing in the Mitre 10 Cup, the competition will lose plenty of its stardust over the coming weeks, and the impact of their departures will differ for each province.
As far as unexpected bedfellows go, China teaming up with New Zealand's Bay of Plenty rugby union is one of the more unusual combinations you might come across. What's resulted is a Global Rapid Rugby team stacked with Kiwi players.