Wells to leave Leicester

"John and I discussed his reason for going and I fully respect the reason he has given me and the rest of the board," said Tigers chairman Peter TomTom. "He has decided that for maybe family reasons, and perhaps others, to leave the club. We're sad that this has happened, but we have every confidence that he'll make a success of his new job."

And the result of Tuesday's board meeting is that Wells will join the RFU with Tigers' blessing, whilst Howard, currently the assistant coach at the club, will take over the reigns next season where he will be "We consulted all of the senior players and we believe the success that we've enjoyed this season has, in some part, been down to Pat's contribution," said Tom. "We're happy that Pat taking on this new role will enable us to seamlessly move through from John moving on, whilst also allowing us time to ensure we get the right coaching structures in place for the next season."

Thirty-six-year-old Back, who himself had a job offer from the RFU this season, will concentrate mainly on coaching in '05/06, bringing the curtain down on a first-class career that has spanned 15 years at the club. Added Tom: "I think Neil will play in emergencies only next season - his new job is a full-time role. Neil could well be playing his last game in a Tigers shirt at the end of this season."

The news of Wells' departure compounds the changes at the home of the two-times European champion Tigers. Skipper Martin Johnson will retire from rugby at the end of this season.

"He [Johnson] is going to take a well-deserved break," said Tigers' chairman. "I know he's going to New Zealand with his family for a bit, but he's agreed to sit on the playing committee, so we'll have his input when he's about. I see Martin more playing a role as a director of the club, rather than, necessarily, in a coaching role. He's going to take time off and then decide what he's going to do and I'm sure he'll be inundated with offers away from the game, too."

And on the loss of three Leicester stalwarts - Wells, Johnson and Back - albeit at different levels, Tom added: "Throughout Leicester's history we've had eras with lots of great players and concerns about when they come to retirement what's going to happen. We'd be really stupid if we didn't acknowledge that Martin and Neil have made a major contribution to the club's success over the years, but we've got a lot of other very, very good players coming through and I think it's no accident that the first captain of England to win a match in a few games is a Leicester player.

"[But] if you look at the strength in depth that we've got here, we've got people like Graham Rowntree, who are still around, but the important thing about Leicester is that it builds a strange relationship with you when you've been a player. I know Pat feels the drag from the time he spent here as a player and it's fascinating that people like Dusty and Rory Underwood, who had fantastic careers at the club, are happy to come back and help out. We knew that Johnno and Backy wouldn't be around forever and our squad for next season will reflect that.

"I think what we've learnt over the past few years is that there's a tremendous pool of talent at the club, of players coming through, and we've discussed, with all the senior players, the changes made. Some of us have joked about it, but Leicester is a basic club in that everyone's bottoms are pretty close to the floor, and I think we've also learnt that there's a benefit of bringing in a bit of outside magic, like we have with Pat. Although Pat's nearly one of us now, we've seen those benefits and going forward; we'll always have people developed by the club, but always an addition from outside the club."