Last week’s post-Christmas block of fixtures took us beyond the halfway point in this season’s Gallagher Premiership and a number of the round nine results have certainly whetted the appetite as English ruby welcomes in the new year.
Ireland international fly half Harry Byrne will join Bristol Bears on a three-month loan deal from Leinster as injury cover for AJ MacGinty.
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.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Pacific Island duo, Fijian Kalaveti Ravouvou and Samoan international Steven Luatua, have recovered from injury to hand Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam a triple boost ahead of Friday night's visit by Northampton Saints.
Stationed at full-back, he is already four tries up just two games into the campaign and on the hunt for more when the Bears visit Bath on Saturday.
Topping Pool B after two matches at the Junior World Championship wasn’t how it was predicted to turn out for England in South Africa.
Joe Worsley, the England World Cup winner, is revelling in Georgia’s historic victory over Italy in Batumi, but the Lelos defence coach is acutely aware of the work that still needs to be done before they are included in the Six Nations
We cast our eye back to the 2009/10 season and look at who was leading the way for the current Premiership rugby clubs at the time. Welcome to nostalgia.
The coming Premiership season looks set to be a competitive one, with almost all the teams in the division bringing in a wealth of talent who will hope to make an instant impact.