Northampton Saints lock David Ribbans to join Toulon at end of season

Northampton Saints have announced that England lock David Ribbans will be joining French club Toulon at the end of season.

Ribbans made his professional rugby debut with Western Province in 2015 and went on to join Northampton Saints in 2017.

He has racked up 115 appearances for the club scoring 17 tries.

Ribbans made his England debut last year and has three caps that came against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa during the autumn internationals.

"This was not an easy decision for me to make," he told the club's official website.

"I'm extremely grateful to the club's supporters for embracing me as they have in my time here, and to the coaches and support staff for everything they have done to improve me as a player.

"I'll be sad to leave some great friends and teammates, but I'll be giving everything I've got to make sure we finish the season as strongly as possible."

Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson expressed disappointment on losing the services of Dowson but wished him good luck on his time with Toulon next season.

"It's disappointing to lose a player of his calibre and we were surprised Dave wanted to leave the club at this time," said Dowson.

"You always want to create an environment for players where they can work hard, thrive, win matches and be successful on the international stage. Sometimes, that means players become attractive propositions for other clubs."