Healey set to finish career with Tigers' old boys club

Austin Healey looks set to end his career at Leicester after re-signing for the Welford Road club.

Austin Healey looks set to end his career at Leicester after re-signing for the Welford Road club.

The 30-year-old England international is one of five senior players to have signed new deals. Graham Rowntree, Andy Goode, Harry Ellis and Will Johnson have also committed themselves to the Tigers.

Healey bounced back from 12 months of injury worries to put in a strong finish to last season playing on the wing.

The former Northampton captain Budge Pountney has been given the opportunity to stay on at the Saints as part of the coaching staff, after being forced to retire from the game in February as the result of an ankle injury. The ex-Scotland flanker will work alongside Northampton's strength and conditioning coach, Tim Exeter.

Pountney said: "The last year has been difficult for me and realising that I was going to have to give up rugby was obviously a huge wrench."

The Rugby Football Union has rejected a proposed merger between Wakefield and the amateur side Sale FC.

The plan was turned down because it would have involved Wakefield playing home games in Greater Manchester and would have allowed Sale FC to move up eight levels of the league system.