Fans of The British & Irish Lions will be able to watch their 2025 heroes back in action this weekend as they return to domestic duty.
While a few of the series winners from the summer have already been spotted in club colours – including Test Lions Owen Farrell and Ollie Chessum in England, Sione Tuipulotu for Glasgow Warriors and Blair Kinghorn at Toulouse – the vast majority have been rested in the early weeks of the season.
But a wave of players are due to return to domestic action this weekend across Europe.
Leinster, who had 14 players used over the course of the Tour to Australia, welcome back their Lions for their first home match of the United Rugby Championship season.
They will take on the Sharks at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday with the likes of James Lowe, James Ryan and Josh van der Flier among those expected to feature for the first time this season.
Elsewhere in the URC, Munster take on Edinburgh in a game that could pit Tadhg Beirne against a number of his summer teammates.
Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe were both due to make their returns to action against Ulster last weekend before the game was postponed due to Storm Amy.
Connacht also had their most recent game postponed, against the Scarlets, and will now take on Cardiff with Lions trio Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham all potentially in line for their first appearances of the campaign.
Over in England, it is derby weekend, with big matches across the country.
That means that Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl could all be back for Saracens when they take on Harlequins and Marcus Smith on Sunday.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Northampton Saints will have their quartet of Lions, including Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith, fresh from signing a new deal, back to take on Leicester Tigers.
And in the West Country derby, Will Stuart and Finn Russell could be back for Bath, who take on a Gloucester team that is captained by Tomos Williams, who has already made his return after his Lions Tour was cut short by injury.
It has now been just over two months since the final Test in Sydney which brought down the curtain on a thrilling series against the Wallabies.
Andy Farrell’s Lions won the first Test in Brisbane before clinching the series in dramatic fashion in front of a record crowd at the MCG in Melbourne thanks to Hugo Keenan’s last-minute try.
