England and British and Irish Lions hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has been linked with a move to BS3
06:00, 21 May 2026
Luke Cowan-Dickie of Sale Sharks is tackled by Fitz Harding of Bristol Bears (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images for Sale Sharks)
England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is keen on joining Bristol Bears should an opportunity arise, BristolLive understands.
The Bears are currently well stocked at hooker, with one-cap England international Gabriel Oghre, 27, and centurion Harry Thacker, 32, both in contract for the 2026/27 season, but with former Exeter Chiefs star Cowan-Dickie keen on returning to the West Country where his young family are still based, the 60-cap England star is understood to have spoken to the club about a potential future move.
READ MORE: Under-fire Pat Lam responds to questions over his Bristol Bears future
Cowan-Dickie, 32, is currently in his third season with Sale Sharks after joining the Gallagher PREM side when a move to French Top 14 side Montpellier fell through.
He is understood to still have another year left to run on his contract with Sale, with Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson keen to lock him down for longer, with talks ongoing.
Speaking to RugbyPass, Sanderson said: “He’s on contract, and we’re in negotiations for furthering that contract. I heard that in the Six Nations [ Bristol Bears interest]. There’s interest in all our lads who were potentially out of contract the year after next.
“That’s sport as it was with all the Saints players who signed late into this season. So there are a few that are out, not next year, but the year after. That’s all part of the reckoning. Look, and this is kind of personal stuff in it.
“You know, he can either bring them [his family] up here or move back down there. That’s part of the decision-making process for him. It’s not been talked about in the conversation we’ve had with him.
“Certainly, things are very positive for us at the moment, and it’s pretty open now, so. I don’t want to speculate on it.”
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Bristol have already signed a hooker ahead of the 2026/27 season, bringing in 21-year-old Sol Moody, who is currently dual-registered with Exeter Chiefs and Champ Rugby side Cornish Pirates.
Moody arrives to compete with homegrown talent Tomas Gwilliam, with the Bears set to release the suspended Will Capon at the end of the season.
As good as Cowan-Dickie is, the fearless, big-tackling British and Irish Lions front-rower doesn’t seem a natural fit with the Bears, who currently have two of the most talented ball-handling hookers in the league on their books.
But should director of rugby Pat Lam want to add some more brute force to his pack, Cowan-Dickie, who is very close with Bears loosehead Ellis Genge, would be a prime candidate, but his injury profile will raise concerns.
Lam has outlined how Bristol have run into trouble hitting the league’s English Qualified Player quota this season, largely due to the almost consistent injury crisis, but that is another advantage to signing Cowan-Dickie.
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