RUMOUR | Bath and England star Zach Mercer set for shock exit

New Montpellier director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre is understood to be a big fan of Mercer and has told The Daily Mail: "We are watching many players and Zach is one of them."

The former Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Toulon coach has been tasked with taking Montpellier back to the top of French rugby and will be backed to do so by billionaire owner Mohed Altrad.

Bath are keen for him to stay at the Rec, but they do plenty of high quality depth with Sam Underhill, Tom Ellis, Mike Williams, Miles Reid, Josh Bayliss and Faletau all under contract.

A strong ball carrier and a formidable force in defence, the back rower has caught the eye of England Head Coach Eddie Jones, making his debut against the Barbarians in 2018.

The 23-year-old is a product of the Bath academy and was promoted to the senior squad from the Academy in 2017.

DID YOU KNOW? His father is former rugby league footballer and coach Gary Mercer, who played for New Zealand. Zach is also of Māori ancestry.

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North was born in 1992 in King's Lynn. His father is English from Yorkshire and his Welsh mother is from Anglesey. The family moved to Anglesey when he was aged two and he is a fluent Welsh language speaker.

He would have qualified to Play for England through his father, who was born and raised in Kent. Considered one of the world’s best flankers, the 99-cap flanker hit international headlines as he mastered the field alongside revered teammate David Pocock on the Rugby World Cup stage in 2015. 

A key man on two successful Lions tours, the leader of the Welsh back-line, and at the heart of the Scarlets revival. If there’s a player who can cut better lines than Davies then I’m yet to see him. Born in Solihull, arguably the best centre in the world could have played for England.

Matavesi was born in Camborne in Cornwall, England to a Cornish mother and Fijian father. He identifies himself as "Cornish Fijian" and has said that he feels Cornish, not English. His father, Sireli Matavesi, who is from Vanua Balavu, Lau Islands, Fiji, toured the United Kingdom as a Fiji Barbarian in 1987 where he met his wife, Karen.

One of the most consistent back-rowers in the Six Nations, Watson has accumulated 32 caps since making his Scotland debut in 2015. The flanker was actually born in Manchester, making him eligible to play for England.