All Blacks prop heads to Toulouse
NEWS: New Zealand great Owen Franks, who has not played for the All Blacks since 2019, has joined Toulouse for the duration of the World Cup, the French champions announced on Wednesday.
“Owen Franks joins us as a World Cup joker. The All Black prop will bring us his experience during the competition. Welcome Owen,” Toulouse said on social media.
The 35-year-old prop won 108 caps for the All Blacks and was a member of two World Cup-winning sides in 2011 and 2015.
He missed out on the 2019 edition and joined English club Northampton before returning to New Zealand to play for the Hurricanes.
Toulouse will lose around 15 players to the World Cup, including the France tighthead Dorian Aldegheri. Current All Black Nepo Laulala is set to join the champions after the World Cup.
Franks, who is the ninth World Cup joker to sign for Toulouse, will be needed for the first three rounds of the Top 14 which take place before the World Cup begins.
Toulouse open their defence with a trip to Bayonne on August 18.
