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The capped England XV potentially playing in the Top 14 next season
The inexorable trickle of England internationals making the move to the Top 14 from the Gallagher Premiership continued on Monday as Racing 92 confirmed the signing of Saracens’ Owen Farrell.
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The former England captain is set to join the Parisian club at the end of the season, becoming the biggest cross-Channel signing since Jonny Wilkinson joined Toulon in 2009.
Already five players from England’s World Cup squad have committed to Top 14 clubs next season, and it looks as though that list could grow by the end of the season. Alongside a number of England internationals already based in the Top 14, an impressive team could potentially be made of English expats next season. Here’s how it could look:
1. Harry Williams (Montpellier)
The former Exeter Chiefs prop earned the last of his 19 England caps in 2021, two years before securing a move to the Top 14 last summer. Not technically a loosehead, but the French league seems to have a predilection for English tightheads.
2. Jack Singleton (Toulon)
Gloucester’s three-cap hooker is only on loan at Toulon until the end of the season, so he may well be back in the Premiership next season.
3. Kyle Sinckler (reported)
The England, and British & Lions tighthead has been linked with a move to Toulon at the end of the season, and his recent omission from Steve Borthwick’s England squad for the Guinness Six Nations may push him even closer to a move to the Cote d’Azur. If the move does not come to fruition for the 30-year-old, fellow tighthead Kieran Brookes is already playing in France, and is set to join Perpignan next season from Toulon.
4. Courtney Lawes (reported)
The England legend has been linked with a couple of clubs in France’s Pro D2, and with one of his main suitors, Provence Rugby, sitting second in the league, he could well be playing in the Top 14 next season if they are promoted.
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5. David Ribbans (Toulon)
A member of England’s recent World Cup squad, the former Northampton Saints lock joined Toulon at the end of the tournament, and has already captained his new side this season.
6. Lewis Ludlam (Toulon)
In a similar position to Sinckler after missing out on Six Nations selection, the Northampton skipper has also been heavily linked with a move to Toulon. However, nothing has been confirmed by either club yet, and Ludlam distanced himself from those reports recently.
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse)
One of the biggest English stars currently in the Top 14, Willis joined French giants Toulouse after Wasps’ demise in 2022, and though he was originally allowed to play for England under ‘special circumstances’, he suspended his international career when he signed a new deal. The 14-cap flanker showcased what England are missing against Bath recently in the Investec Champions Cup with a devastating performance.
8. Sam Simmonds (Montpellier)
After years of being selected and discarded by England, the 2020 EPCR player of the year made the move from Exeter to Montpellier in the summer. The No8 took the place to Zach Mercer, who joined Gloucester and has since found himself in a very similar position to the one Simmonds was in by being overlooked by England.
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9. Dan Robson (Pau)
After being left unemployed by Wasps suddenly going bust, the 14-cap scrum-half was swiftly picked up by Pau and has stayed there ever since.
10. Owen Farrell (Racing 92)
The man of the moment will officially become a Racing 92 player from July 1.
11. Christian Wade (Racing 92)
One of the most prolific wingers in Premiership history made the same career move as Louis Rees-Zammit in 2018 by joining the NFL’s International Player Pathway, but returned to rugby in 2022, joining Racing 92, where the one-cap Englishman remains.
12. Joe Marchant (Stade Francais)
Another member of England’s World Cup squad that remained in France after the World Cup, the 26-cap centre is contracted with Stade Francais until 2026.
13. Jonathan Joseph (Biarritz)
This one is a push, as it is unlikely that Joseph’s current Pro D2 club Biarritz are going to be in the Top 14 next season as they currently sit in 14th place. But the 54-cap international will nevertheless be playing in France next season.
14. Jack Nowell (La Rochelle)
A Champions Cup and Premiership winner during his eleven years with Exeter, Nowell joined the reigning European champions La Rochelle over the summer.
15. Henry Arundell (Racing 92)
Of all the English players in the Top 14, Arundell may be the one that England fans would want in the Premiership the most. The 21-year-old is set to play alongside Farrell at Racing 92 until 2026, but he has a bright future with England when he returns.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments