Who are the five best overseas players to grace the Premiership? | Robert Kitson

The argument that foreign talent has stunted home growth falls flat when you think of some of the players who have graced these shores in the past 20 years

Imagine if the last 20 years of English club rugby had passed without a single player from overseas – let alone the rest of Britain and Ireland – featuring in the Premiership. How immeasurably greyer our sporting lives would have been.

The thought occurred over the weekend, as Nick Evans bear-hugged his Harlequins director of rugby, John Kingston, and Kelly Brown treated Saracens’ fans to his best post-match Bon Jovi impression, that the finest imports are not measured purely by on-field deeds. Better, perhaps, to gauge their contribution by the size of the hole they leave behind, not simply as players but as people, too.

Related: Rugby union: talking points from the weekend’s action

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