Burrell to leave Saints at end of season

The 31-year-old is set to return to rugby league, having spent almost seven years at Saints.

Burrell has made 158 appearances for Northampton since joining the club from Sale Sharks in 2012.

He was a key figure in the double-winning campaign of 2013/14 and has also notched up 15 England caps during his time at Franklin's Gardens.

But he will now switch back to rugby league, in which he started out at age-grade level with Huddersfield Giants.

He then crossed codes to join Leeds Carnegie in 2009 before joining Sale two years later.

But it is at Saints where he has truly made his name.

And 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.”