Eight British & Irish Lions players to have reportedly requested to play this weekend after being granted an extended period of recovery following their summer tour to South Africa
A number of stars were given a delayed return to Premiership action after their involvement on the British & Irish Lions tour, with an initial rest period of 10 weeks meaning they couldn’t play again until October 18.
An application has been submitted to the Player Performance Management Group (PPMG) – a sub-committee of the PGB – and providing they give the player the green light, with obvious concerns around player welfare, they could return to action this weekend.
Here are the five players who are thought to be in contention for their first start of the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership season.
#1. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
The fly-half failed to feature in any of the Springboks Tests but did dazzle when he played the full 80 minutes in a 49-3 warm-up win over the Stormers.
He would be available for this weekend, but won’t be featuring simply because Quins don’t have a game due to the league being a 13 team division.
It is understood Tom Curry will return for Sale’s Friday night clash with Harlequins on October 15,
