British & Irish Lion set to make surprising move back home

, Cowan-Dickie, who hails from Truro, could join Bristol Bears this summer in a bid to be closer to his family, with his partner and son still based in the Exeter area.

According to RugbyPass

Despite having a year remaining on his current deal, the hooker is believed to be keen on leaving Sale.

The club’s disappointing campaign may also be a contributing factor, with the Sharks dropping from PREM Rugby semi-finalists last season to seventh place this year.

The potential transfer has raised eyebrows given Bristol’s current strength at hooker. The Bears already boast two high-quality Prem options in Gabriel Oghre and Harry Thacker, both of whom remain under contract.

Oghre has been one of the standout hookers in England statistically this season, while Thacker has provided experienced and reliable cover throughout the campaign.

Adding a third senior player in the same position could indicate that one of the current options may depart, which from Bristol’s perspective may appear somewhat unnecessary.

England international Oghre suffered a knee injury during the win over Newcastle Red Bulls and is set to undergo surgery in the coming days, ruling him out for the rest of the season. However, Cowan-Dickie’s proposed move would not happen until the summer.

Former Exeter Chiefs player Cowan-Dickie was selected for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

During the tour, he featured in matches against the Sharks and South Africa ‘A’. He scored his first tour try against the Stormers and was also named Player of the Match.

The hooker made his Lions Test debut in the opening Test against South Africa, scoring the Lions’ only try in a 22-17 victory. He also started the second Test, which ended in a 27-9 defeat.

Cowan-Dickie was later selected again for the 2025 Lions tour to Australia.

Although the proposed deal is still far from finalised, it remains an attractive option for Bristol because Cowan-Dickie qualifies as an EQP player.

Pat Lam admitted during his weekly media briefing that maintaining the required EQP numbers has become increasingly difficult due to the number of injuries within his squad.

That said, both of Bristol’s current first-choice hookers are already English-qualified, meaning strengthening another position may be a more logical way to address the quota requirements.

“The EQP numbers are one of our biggest issues, and I’ve never had an issue in all my time here, but we have this year, with the amount of English guys that were injured, it affected our EQP.

“You have to average 15 over the season, and we’re below that at the moment. So I’m trying to catch up on that. In some games, I need to make sure I have more than 15 English players on the field,” said Lam.