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Speculation over England centre Burrell's future ramps up as Northampton confirm departure
Northampton Saints have confirmed that Luther Burrell will be leaving the club at the end of the 2018/19 season.
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The 31-year-old centre is in his seventh season at Franklin’s Gardens, and has notched up over 150 appearances in the Black, Green and Gold jersey.
“Luther leaves with our full support and best wishes for the future,” said Saints defence coach Alan Dickens, who has coached Burrell since he joined the Club in 2012.
“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.”
Burrell has been strongly linked to a code switch to Warrington Wolves. The Super League outfit see him as a 2020 season replacement for Ryan Atkins, the 33-year-old who is in his testimonial year at the club.
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League isn’t an alien rugby code for Burrell. He played for Huddersfield Giants growing up before embarking on a successful union career that saw him play for Leeds and Sale before his 2012 switch to Northampton catapulted him into the England frame.
Burrell has accumulated 158 appearances to date since arriving in Northampton from Sale Sharks ahead of the 2012/13 season, scoring 29 tries.
In his debut season the Huddersfield-born midfielder helped guide Saints all the way to the Premiership final against Leicester Tigers, before the side went one better the following campaign and claimed an historic double success in the Premiership and European Challenge Cup.
Burrell started both finals as Northampton scooped both trophies in the space of eight days, and 2014 also saw him break into international contention as he was called up for England’s Six Nations campaign.
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He went on to earn 15 caps for his country, last featuring for the Red Rose in Australia as England secured a historic 3-0 series win over the Wallabies.
Burrell will finish this season at Saints and look to end his time at Franklin’s Gardens on a high, with Northampton still challenging for silverware on three fronts this term.
Burrell said: “Leaving this great club has been an incredibly hard decision for me to make, but the time has come for me to move on.
“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.
“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.”
In other news: Worcester sign Super try-scorer Nanai
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
16 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments