Saturday 03 June 2023 9:09 am | Updated: Sunday 04 June 2023 2:36 pm

Joining the Premiership XV: The rugby talent coming to England

Deputy Sports Editor - Morning Wire

Last month we put together a XV of players leaving the Premiership so we thought we’d look at some of the stars joining England’s top flight to distract from the financial woes that the league is facing.

Where we could we’ve left out players who have joined from temporary clubs following the fall of both Worcester Warriors and Wasps, but to make a complete XV some have been included.

Here’s some of the talent heading to England this summer.

Premiership XV

Our fantasy front row is made up of Murray McCallum, Curtis Langdon and Thomas du Toit. McCallum joins Newcastle Falcons from Edinburgh having started the season at Worcester Warriors. He has the ability to cover both tighthead and loosehead and scored in his last match for Edinburgh, against the Scarlets.

Langdon was also formerly of Worcester Warriors but found himself at reigning Top14 champions Montpellier this season. He joins Northampton Saints.

World Cup winning Springbok Du Toit is the star front row signing of the season, landing himself a trip from the South African Sharks to Bath.

Our second row sees another new Saint, Temo Mayanavanua – a powerful Fijian lock who has been practising his game in Lyon – and Ernst van Rhyn, who heads to Premiership finalists Sale Sharks from the Stormers.

There have been a number of great back rows leaving the Premiership this summer, including the likes of Jake Polledri and Jack Willis.

But Jack’s brother Tom returns to the English top flight – this time with champions Saracens – having spent a spell with Bordeaux after being dismissed from Wasps.

He’s joined in our fantasy back row by Ethan Roots – who is one of a number of Wales-based players coming to the English top flight – and Zach Mercer, who was last year named Top14 player of the year when at Montpellier.

In the backs, Ireland international Kieran Marmion is leaving Connacht for Bristol Bears while the talismanic individual and mercurial talent Finn Russell will join Bath from Racing 92.

In the centres is Joe Hawkins, who is joining Roots in ditching the Ospreys for Exeter, and Kalaveti Ravouvou, whose aim will be to fill the Semi Radradra-shaped hole in the Bristol Bears backline.

Our back three has been moulded to fit into the team but sees Gloucester-bound Welshman Max Llewellyn and Sale’s Telusa Veainu on the wings – Harlequins-bound playmaker Jarrod Evans completing the XV.

It really is a sensational depth of talent coming into the league and it reminds us of how much quality there is in the 11 Premiership squads.

The game may be facing dark, dark days but there is some light amidst the shadows.

Notable mentions:

Fly-half Will Haydon-Wood (Massy to Exeter Chiefs); tighthead prop Dillon Lewis (Cardiff to Harlequins); scrum-half Gareth Simpson (Western Force to Saracens (Ex-Worc)), flanker Kyle Hatherell (La Rochelle to Leicester (Ex-Worc)), fly-half Jamie Shillcock (Sagamihara DynaBoars to Leicester (Ex-Worc)); centre Burger Odendaal (Wasps to Northampton (Ex-Wasps); lock Joe Launchbury (Toyota Verblitz to Harlequins (Ex-Wasps))