The Super Rugby regular season finishes next weekend with three weeks of finals to follow. 

The Aussie 7s also play two back to back tournaments in the coming weeks, then face a three month break before the final leg of the World Series in Los Angeles and the Sevens’ World Cup in South Africa in early September. 

While the Sevens players are unlikely to be available for the Shute Shield finals series, a host of Super Rugby players are expected to return to their Sydney clubs after a few weeks break and could make a big difference towards the back end of this season. 

The Wallabies are expected to pick a big extended squad and play seven Tests in 10 weeks from July to early September when the Shute Shield final will be played. It’ll be interesting to see how much club rugby the Wallabies’ squad members not in the match day 23 play through that period. 

Here’s a look at some of the players that could be heading to your club in the coming weeks. 

Eastwood: Tane Edmed, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Lachie Anderson, Michael Icely, Tim Anstee, Matt Gonzales. 

The Woodies lead the competition after seven rounds and will welcome back a host of big names in the coming weeks. Take Edmed might spend some time in Wallabies’ camps, but will likely play plenty of Shute Shield. As will Waratahs teammate Mark Nawaqanitawase, Rebels forward Lachie Anderson and Force flanker Tim Anstee. 

Aussie 7s players Michael Icely and Matt Gonzales will likely pop up at TG Millner, but may miss the back end of the season and the finals if they are picked to play at the Sevens’ World Cup. 

Eastern Suburbs: Archer Holtz, Will Harris, Alex Newsome, Jeremy Williams, Jack Grant, Mosese Tuipulotu, Dary Lancaster, Henry Paterson. 

Easts also have a host of Waratahs to return and they’ll have a bit of work to do when they get there. Will Harris could be an extended Wallabies squad bolter but the rest of the Beasties’ Tahs should play plenty of Shute Shield in the months ahead. On paper, it’s a very good side but Simon Kneebone will need to get his new look squad firing fairly quickly if they want to move up the ladder. 

Darby Lancaster and Henry Paterson will likely play some games but will also rejoin the Aussie 7s program later in the year. 

Gordon: Mahe Vailanu, Rodney Iona

Gordon lost plenty of players to higher honours last year but most of them headed overseas and it’s not yet known if and when they’ll return. 

The Highlanders will get Mahe Vailanu, the 2020 Catchpole Medal winner, back full time and premiership winning No.10 Rodney Iona could also return after a disappointing season at the Brumbies. 

Manly: Dave Porecki, Langi Gleeson, Max Douglas Lalakai Foketi, Josh Turner. 

The high flying Marlins still have some firepower to add. Dave Porecki will add plenty of experience to a young Manly forward pack, while Lalakai Foketi has changed his club allegiance back to his junior club after spending the last few seasons at Eastern Suburbs. 

Foketi will be in the Wallabies squad but may not see a lot of game time and would be a handy inclusion at Manly Oval. 

Josh Turner will also add spark during his break from the Aussie 7s. 

Sydney University: Jake Gordon, Angus Bell, Henry Robertson, Hugh Bokenham, Paddy Ryan (unlikely), Harry Johnson-Holmes, Brad Wilkin, Josh Kemeny, Tim Clements.

The Students could add plenty of experience to their starting side if all rep players are available. Jake Gordon and Angus Bell will both be with the Wallabies, but Brad Wilkin and Josh Kemeny will both return from the Rebels and Paddy Ryan might feel like one last hoorah at Camperdown. 

Tim Clements will also have a big impact on his return from the Aussie 7s program. 

Southern Districts: Te Tera Faulkner, Jed Holloway, Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco, Matt Gibbon, Bailey Kuenzle, Nathan Lawson. 

The Rebels are struggling but reinforcements are on their way. Jed Holloway is a Wallabies bolter but would have a huge impact if he returned to Forshaw. Te Tera Faulkner and Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco will add more size and power to a forward pack that has shown glimpses of their dominant best. They’ll be an even bigger threat if prop Matt Gibbon returns from the Rebels. 

Flyhalf Bayley Kuenzle is over in Perth and would be another big inclusion, while Nathan Lawson may also appear when not with the Aussie 7s. 

Northern Suburbs: Hugh Sinclair, Michael Wells

While their rivals at the top of the ladder will be forced to make a number of changes to accomodate their returning rep players, Zak Beer’s side will remain relatively settled. 

Adding the experience of Hugh Sinclair and Michael Wells to the Shoremen pack also boosts their premiership credentials. 

Randwick: Dylan Pietsch, Ben Donaldson, Ned Hanigan, James Ramm, Triston Reilly, Izaia Perese

The Randwick backline will be electric if they get all their Waratahs on the field at the same time. But that seems unlikely with Ben Donaldson and Izaia Perese expected to be named in the Wallabies squads. 

Donaldson will probably play quite a bit of Shute Shield and will be an interesting one to watch return to club rugby. 

Ned Hanigan might also need some game time to work his way into Wallabies’ calculations. 

Warringah: Ben Marr, Jamie Roberts (unlikely)

Warringah will get a big boost when Ben Marr returns from the Aussie 7s in the coming weeks. Marr was set to captain the Rats this year but was given a late call up to the Sevens squad. 

Jamie Roberts is also technically a Rat, after happily shacking up on the Northern Beaches, but it would seem unlikely that he’ll see too much time on the park at Rat Park this season. 

West Harbour: Geoff Cridge, Carlo Tizzano, Cameron Orr

The Pirates will welcome back Geoff Cridge and Carlo Tizzano full time at the end of the Waratahs season. Both have been in and out of the Tahs squad and will have a big impact at club level. 

Cameron Orr could also return to his former club from the Melbourne Rebels. 

Western Sydney: Dietrich Roache

The Two Blues Waratahs recruit Tevita Funa has already made a big impact at Eric Tweedale stadium but he won’t have any fellow Super Rugby players returning to join him unfortunately. 

Dietrich Roache from the Aussie 7s is a serious player though and has been fantastic on the World Series.