ON THE BLINDSIDE
BY NEIL FISSLER

Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler
Former Bath lock Elliott Stooke, below, could return to The Rec next month from a spell in the Top 14 with Montpellier, where he has been playing since the start of the year.

The 30-year-old made 127 appearances for Bath after joining from West Country rivals Gloucester in July 2016 before moving to Wasps in 2021 and moved to Bristol Bears when they collapsed.

He had eight appearances for Montpellier last season and three so far this season after being kept on as a World Cup medical joker, which is what could open the...