Lewis Ludlam

Northampton let him go at fifteen for being too small. He came back, won the Premiership with them, and played two World Cups for England.

Northampton released Lewis Ludlam at fifteen. He was too small and not technical enough. He went to Colchester, they took him back, and in 2024 he won the English championship with them.

Flanker at Toulon, 1.90m and 111kg, and 30 years old.

Ipswich raised him, in a family that followed boxing and football and had no interest in rugby at all. He started playing because England won the 2003 World Cup, which is the sort of thing that is said about a generation of English players and is literally true of this one.

His background is unusual for the England back row. His father is of Palestinian and Egyptian descent and his mother comes from Guyana.

England took him into World Cup preparation in July 2019, in his first season as a regular, and he has been in and around the squad since. Steve Borthwick named him in the 41 for the 2023 tournament and then in the final party, and England finished third. He won the Six Nations and a Triple Crown in 2020.

The move to the Top 14 came for 2024-25 on a three-year contract. He arrived alongside his compatriot Kyle Sinckler, part of a run of English forwards choosing the French league over the Premiership.

Northampton is the whole of his English club career, which is unusual for a modern international, and the 2024 title was the first the club had won since 2014. He left for France a few weeks after it.

A high-workrate flanker who tackles and carries more than he creates, and whose whole career is an argument against judging a 15-year-old forward on his size.