BREAKING: Gloucester confirm the signing of FIVE former London Irish stars

Gloucester Rugby Head Coach, George Skivington, is pleased to be able to bolster his squad.

“With James coming in to run our attack next season, it made sense for us to take a look at some of the Irish boys when they became available as these are players he’s worked with for a few years.

“He knows the ability and potential they have, and they understand the way in which he wants to play, so it was a no-brainer."

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English-qualified scrum-half Englefield, 23, who won caps at junior level for Ireland, has worked closely with new attack coach James Lightfoot-Brown over the years, signs on to enhance the half-backs following the departure of Ben Meehan.

Despite his young age, versatile forward Donnell, 22, already has bags of senior experience.

Donnell joined the Irish Academy at 16 and went on to captain the Club's under-18s side. His first senior appearance came aged just 18 during the 2017/18 season, coming off the bench against the Cherry & Whites in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.  

At 6’6’’ and 115kg, Donnell is a physical unit, operating at lock and back-row, he’s sure to add size and versatility to an already powerful forward pack.

Dykes, like many of the Irish Academy graduates, is a lethal attacker. He scored seven tries in his first ten games of professional rugby, including a memorable Gallagher Premiership hat-trick against Harlequins in January this year.

Prop, Afolabi Fasogban, who impressed again in the England U20s first game of the world U20 Championship against Ireland on the weekend, and fly-half, Rory Taylor, make the move to Kingsholm, where they will be developed by transition coaches T. Rhys Thomas and Tim Taylor into first-team players.