England hooker Cowan-Dickie to leave Exeter for Montpellier
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England hooker Cowan-Dickie to leave Exeter for Montpellier
MONTPELLIER (AFP) – England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has signed a three-year contract with Montpellier starting next season, the French Top 14 champions announced on Monday.
England have a rule against picking players with foreign clubs, but while his contract will start in July, Cowan-Dickie, who has 42 England caps, will join the Top 14 side after the Rugby World Cup.
That means the 29-year-old, like back-rower Sam Simmonds, another player moving from Exeter Chiefs to Montpellier, and Zach Mercer, a back row forward leaving Montpellier for Gloucester in the summer, could be eligible for selection in at the World Cup which runs from September 8 to October 28 in France.
"Playing for England is the pinnacle of your career, so it s tough to leave that behind," Cowan-Dickie told the Chiefs website.
"We ve got the Six Nations coming up, then the World Cup, and I want to be involved in both.
Cowan-Dickie has spent more than a decade at Sandy Park making 163 appearances, scoring 36 tries and winning the European Champions Cup in 2020 and two English Premiership titles.
"It s gutting to be leaving," he said.
"I ve been at the Chiefs for 12 years and it s all I ve known. That said, this opportunity came up and it was one that I had to think long and hard about."
Cowan-Dickie will share the hooker position at Montpellier with Australia s Brandon Paenga-Amosa as former France front rower Guilhem Guirado retired in June.
"Luke Cowan-Dickie is one of the best hookers in Europe," Montpellier director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre said.
"He is a very experienced player, who has decided to try his luck in a new league after the 2023 World Cup, and we are very happy that he has chosen Montpellier,"
