England lock Ollie Chessum will return to Leicester Tigers' starting XV on Sunday as his side host Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership.
England captain Maro Itoje will return to captain a Saracens side containing four of his international team-mates during the Guinness Six Nations when they host Harlequins in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday.
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.
It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
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.
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.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Sale Sharks) and Bryce Heem (Worcester Warriors) appeared before an independent disciplinary panel last night.