Champions eyeing Boyce Stoop swoop
Bath Rugby loosehead prop Lewis Boyce is reportedly wanted back at The Stoop by the defending Premiership champions Harlequins
Boyce, 25, joined Bath ahead of the 2019/20 season but has spent a significant chunk of his time at The Rec on the sidelines after injuring his ACL in 2020. So far he has made just 28 league appearances in the Blue, Black and White, four of which have come this season as he returned to action from injury and is expected to be the club’s first choice in the number one jersey for the rest of the season with England star Beno Obano set for an extended time in the rehab room having injured his ACL against Harlequins last month.
Middlesbrough-born Boyce started his career at Yorkshire Carnegie before moving to Harlequins in 2017.
The Rugby Paper reports Quins scrum and forwards coach Adam Jones - the Wales great - remains a big fan of the former England U20s player and wants to bring him back to the Twickenham-based club next season.
However first Quins need to get their own house in order with the Daily Mail reporting former All Black Nick Evans, the attack coach, Jones and former Irish international hooker Jerry Flannery, the defence and lineout coach, are all out of contract at the end of the season with new deals yet to be offered. However, all three are reported to want to stay at The Stoop having collectively led the club to the league title in 2020/21.
Despite Quins’s success last season the club’s management opted to bring former Bath coach Tabai Matson in as ‘senior coach’ - which is essentially a head coach/director of rugby role over the summer but he is yet to implement any significant personnel changes in West London.
Other than Obano and Boyce, Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper currently has Juan Schoeman, Arthur Cordwell and Kieran Verden as other options at loosehead.