- Nathan Cleary has travelled to the UK
- He is visiting his girlfriend Mary Fowler
- The Man City star is currently in camp with the Matildas
Nathan Cleary has been spending some time away from Australia in recent weeks and is currently visiting his girlfriend Mary Fowler in the United Kingdom.
The NRL star jetted out to the UK fresh from spearheading his Penrith to their fourth successive NRL premiership and has put shoulder surgery on hold to spend some time with the Manchester City star.
The pair, who are seen by many as Australia’s most prominent sporting couple, both took to Instagram on Tuesday to post some snaps of their time together, with the pair seen taking a trip to the coast, while also exploring Manchester.
It comes after Cleary, 26, posted a snap of himself cheering on Fowler as she featured in City’s 2-1 victory against Aston Villa over the weekend.
Fowler has been impressing for Man City‘s women’s side of late, having scored twice in all competitions since the start of the season and this week was called up to the Matildas squad as they travel to play Switzerland in Zurich on Friday in an international friendly. Australia will then travel to face Germany on Monday.
Fowler was pictured with members of the Matildas squad arriving in Switzerland ahead of the match but it is unclear if Cleary will also make the trip to mainland Europe to watch the match.
The pair had first been seen in Europe a week after Penrith had trumped Melbourne Storm in Sydney. They were pictured at Old Trafford watching the Super League Grand Final as Wigan claimed victory over Hull Kingston Rovers, meaning the Warriors are set to play the Panthers in the World Club Challenge next year.
During half-time, Cleary was invited pitchside for an interview with Sky Sports Rugby League, where the Australian rugby league star poured cold water on rumours linking him to a move to play in Europe so that he could be closer to his girlfriend Fowler.
‘Not any time soon, to be honest,’ Cleary said when asked about the rumours linking him to league sides in Europe and a potential code switch to play union in the northern hemisphere.
‘I’ve seen all the rumours. But get to come over here and see her [Mary] play, which is nice, and have a break. But [I] won’t be moving over here anytime soon.’
Cleary, though, appears to have been enjoying his time visiting Fowler, with the pair seen exploring Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
He posted a couple of snaps of himself and Fowler taking a hike along the coastline and visiting a quaint town.
Fowler had taken to Instagram to poke fun at Cleary last week after she took a picture of him peering through a camera with the lens still on the shutter.
Reacting to his Instagram post on Monday, Fowler wrote in the comments: ‘There’s my favourite model’ adding a camera emoji, a ‘heart face’ emoji and a fire emoji.
One of Cleary’s Penrith team-mates Brian To’o also reacted to his post, writing: ‘Ahhh love always wins’ with a heart emoji.
It comes as Rugby Australia have been urged to attempt to lure Cleary to cross codes.
Cleary’s contract with the Panthers is due to run out in 2027, but former Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan claimed the sport should look to land the Penrith playmaker.
It comes after former ex-Roosters star Joseph Suaalii crossed over from the NRL to join up with the Wallabies and has now been selected as part of Joe Schmidt’s side to play in the Autumn Internationals.
‘Joseph has already driven massive interest in rugby union and paid for himself over and over again,’ McLennan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘He’s a global rugby superstar before he has even pulled on a Wallaby jumper, and he’ll be a wonderful role model for aspiring rugby players.
‘The decades-long under-performance of the Wallabies means they need investment in the top tier to drive value in sponsorship, media rights and crowds.
‘We haven’t had a World Cup since 1999, and a Bledisloe Cup in 23 years, so you don’t need more evidence the system needs an overhaul and to be centralised.’
‘I’d be having a crack at the likes of Nathan Cleary and a few others,’ McLennan said.
‘The game needs another five Josephs as the World Cup for ’27 is just around the corner and the clock is ticking… Thank God for Joseph, because that’s all everyone is talking about.
‘Australia is No. 10 in the world (rankings) and needs an injection of talent or there will be nothing left to sell.’
