Leicester call a halt to Julian Salvi saga and release him

Australian flanker may sign with Exeter

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Leicester, back in the Premiership title hunt after their rugged victory over Wasps at the weekend, have already signed a quartet of high-performing loose forwards for next season, but all four could play out of their skins simultaneously and still not rival the impact made by Julian Salvi.

It is therefore a very moot point as to whether the Midlanders are wise to allow the highly effective Australian flanker to disappear through the Welford Road exit door.

Salvi’s contractual discussions have been going on for months and been shrouded in confusion: at one point, he informed supporters he was happy to accept the offer of fresh terms at the club, only for the Tigers hierarchy to counter no agreement had been reached.

On Monday, something decisive emerged on the subject. “Julian is moving on - that’s life,” pronounced Richard Cockerill, the straight-talking rugby director. It seems Salvi may stay in the Premiership with Exeter, who signed the No 8 Thomas Waldrom from Leicester last season and will be welcoming another international-quality Welford Roader, the England lock Geoff Parling, in a few weeks’ time. Alternatively, he might move to France, where a couple of Top 14 clubs have expressed an interest.

Heading for Leicester at the end of the current season are two London Welsh back-rowers, Opeti Fonua and Lachlan McCaffrey; the Zimbabwean-born back-five forward Mike Williams, who is nearing the end of a robust spell at Worcester; and the Auckland Blues flanker Brendon O’Connor, described by Cockerill as “a classic Kiwi open-side”.

Euan Murray, the most decorated tight-head prop in the annals of Scottish rugby despite his refusal to play Sunday matches on religious grounds, has retired from the international game at 34.