Luther Burrell to make Northampton exit at end of season

England international Luther Burrell will part ways with Gallagher Premiership club Northampton Saints at the end of the ongoing season.

The 31-year-old made his professional rugby debut with Leeds Carnegie in 2006 before moving to Sale Sharks in 2011. His association with Northampton Saints started in 2012 and has racked up over 150 appearances since then for the Franklin's Gardens outfit.

“Leaving this great Club has been an incredibly hard decision for me to make, but the time has come for me to move on," he told the official website of Northampton Saints.

“I’ve loved every minute of my time here and will sorely miss running out at Franklin’s Gardens – I feel very fortunate to have been a Northampton Saint for the last seven years and bringing up 150 Saints appearances earlier this season was a huge honour for me".

The 6ft 3in centre also thanked the club and the team management for the support handed to him and is focussed to end the season on a high.

“I’m firmly focused on finishing my time here as strongly as possible and I’m putting everything I have into helping the squad fulfil our potential this year as I’m excited to see what we can achieve.

“I would like to thank all the players, coaches, medical team and support staff who have made my time at the Club so very memorable, and especially all the Northampton Saints supporters who made me feel loved every time I ran out onto the field.”

Burrell also enjoyed double success with Northampton Saints when the club went on to clinch the Premiership and European Challenge Cup during the 2013/14 season. He has also played 15 Tests for England between 2014 and 2016.

“Luther leaves with our full support and best wishes for the future,” said Saints defence coach Alan Dickens.

“I know how difficult a decision this has been for Luther and we are sorry to be saying goodbye to a player of his calibre and experience.

“I’ve known him for 15 years since we were both playing at Leeds together and watching him develop into a top-quality Premiership player and England international has been a pleasure for me.

“He is a very popular member of the squad and around the entire Club, so he’ll be greatly missed here both on and off the field.”