England and Leicester Tigers centre Dan Hipkiss has extended his contract with the double Heineken Cup winners.
The news follows similar extensions by Harry Ellis and Tom Croft and the 26-year-old has identified the Tigers ability to retain English players as this as one of his reasons why he is staying at Welford Road.
"The club have kept hold of a lot of home-grown players this year and that influenced my decision. Foreign players obviously bring unique skills with them to the club, but it's important that a club like Leicester maintains its local links." said the England international.
Speaking to SkySports.com Hipkiss added "It is an exciting time for the club with the stadium redevelopment taking place, If we can sort ourselves out on the pitch and build some consistency there will be a bright future ahead."
Tigers will be hoping that they have a bright future in Europe this season when they take on Bath in the Heineken Cup quarter-final at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday, 11 April and the 21 times Heineken Cup capped centre is targeting that must win game for his return from injury.
