Luke Cowan-Dickie admits that a place in the British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia would be ‘unbelievable’ after starring in Sale Sharks’ recent surge up the Premiership table.

The front-rower perhaps wondered at one stage whether his career was over after losing strength in his right arm following a neck operation that went wrong.

That occurred while Cowan-Dickie was at Exeter Chiefs but, after his move to Montpellier fell through due to failing a medical, he was snapped up by Sale Sharks.

The 31-year-old was a regular feature at Sale last season, but the hooker admitted himself that he was some way short of his best.

Regaining his strength

However, having regained more function in his arm, Cowan-Dickie is once again approaching his best and has played a key role in the Sharks’ rise to third in the Premiership.

“I was a bit pissed off last year due to not performing. It obviously wasn’t the best performance-wise because I basically only had one arm. This year, I’m just enjoying my rugby again,” he told the Times.

Despite returning to action in November 2023, it has taken time for Cowan-Dickie to regain his strength, but it is now looking promising for the hooker ahead of a potentially big 12 months.

“At that stage, the strength and power was still way down,” he said. “I could bicep curl maybe 5kg. Now that’s up to 15kg and before it would have been 25 to 30kg.

“Sale had signed me when I was injured and I wanted to repay them for that. We knew it was safe to play, we strapped certain areas. I wasn’t a shambles, but I wasn’t great.

“The power in my arm is not fully back, it might never be fully back, but it’s night and day from last season.

“I’m not going into games thinking about it at all now. I’m playing 10 times better and it’s going nicely.”

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England and Lions

Cowan-Dickie’s form for Sale earned an England recall for the Autumn Nations Series and he appeared off the bench three times after usurping Theo Dan.

Providing injury does not strike again, he will surely make the Six Nations squad for the upcoming tournament and, if all goes well in February and March, the target could then be the Lions.

The hooker went on the 2021 tour to South Africa and appeared in all three Tests in the 2-1 series defeat to the Springboks, starting the first two.

“Straight after that series, I’d have thought it would be amazing to do it again. But so much has happened in the meantime, just getting back for England was a bonus, it was so far off the radar,” he added.

“The Lions again would be unbelievable. But it’s one thing at a time. I’ve got loads of rugby left in me, so hopefully I can get right back to where I was.”

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/one-armed-england-star-was-pissed-off-last-season-but-british-and-irish-lions-dream-is-now-within-reach