Lewis Ludlam (left) and Kyle Sinckler (right) will be reunited with former England team-mate Dave Ribbans at Toulon
England forwards Lewis Ludlam and Kyle Sinckler will join Toulon for next season, say the French Top 14 club.
Bristol prop Sinckler, 31, and Northampton back-rower Ludlam, 28, are both to move across the English Channel on three-year deals.
The switch to the three-time Champions Cup winners would effectively end the England aspirations of both players.
Under existing rules, England head coach Steve Borthwick is unable to select players based with clubs abroad.
Toulon, who won the last of their four French titles in 2014, currently sit fifth in the Top 14 with seven rounds of the regular season remaining.
“They are two good signings who will complete our forward pack for many years,” Toulon club president Bernard Lemaitre told the AFP news agency.
Ludlam will link up with former Northampton team-mate Dave Ribbans, who made the same move last summer.
“They respond to the profiles we’re looking for in our recruitment,” added Lemaitre.
“We’re trying to have higher expectations on mentality, behaviour and lifestyle of players like their impressive compatriot Dave Ribbans.”
Sinckler, 31, won the most recent of his 68 England caps at the Rugby World Cup in France last autumn.
Ludlam, 28, also played in the tournament, winning his 25th cap in the third-place play off against Argentina.
But both missed out on selection for Borthwick’s squad for this year’s Six Nations.
Former England great Jonny Wilkinson won the second of back-to-back European crowns with Toulon a decade ago.
