Toulouse announce capture of Leicester Tigers skipper Flood

French powerhouse club Toulouse have confirmed England international fly half Toby Flood will join the club next summer, bringing an end to months of speculation regarding the player’s future.

Flood, who currently plays for the reigning Aviva Premiership champions the Leicester Tigers had been linked with a move to the French club for much of this season and as a result, this announcement doesn’t come as too much of a surprise for those who have a keen eye on English rugby.

The 28 year old was first linked with the Top 14 side back in December last year when Richard Cockerill, the Director of Rugby of the English club announced that the player will be leaving the club at the end of the season after refusing to put pen to paper on a new deal at Welford Road.

The fly half moved to the club from the Newcastle Falcons back in 2008 and has played 113 times for the Leicester Tigers since then and has been one of the most influential players for the club on the pitch.

Speaking to the website of Toulouse, Flood stated that the club symbolized everything French rugby stood for, adding that it shares plenty of similarities with the Tigers and this made him want to play even more for the club.

Flood has played sixty times for the England national team but after he announced his desire to play in France, he was dropped from the squad by head coach Stuart Lancaster with the Leicester Tigers skipper falling a victim to the country’ policy of not selecting players based abroad.

But Cockerill has hailed the departing skipper, saying that he has been one of the greatest servants to the club and he will be fondly remembered for what he has achieved at Welford Road.

CEO defends club’s wage cap

Simon Cohen, the chief executive of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club the Leicester Tigers has defended the compliance of the salary cap imposed by the Premiership.

The defense from Cohen comes in the wake of yet another attack on the club by Steve Diamond, the Director of Rugby of fellow Aviva Premiership club the Sale Sharks.

Diamond claimed in a heated press conference following his side’s 30-23 defeat at the hands of the champions as well as accusations of cheating in the scrum half from the Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill, Diamond responded by stating that the champions spend between £ 6 and £ 7 million on the team, a value far greater than the £ 4.23 million salary cap imposed on all the teams by the Premiership.

And Diamond has recently substantiated those claims by adding that he knows what the Tigers players are earning at the club. But Cohen, the Leicester Tigers CEO did not bear any grudge when he hit back at those claims, stating that he understood those claims coming from Diamond. He added that the club does spend more than any other club in the Premiership but does so within the strictly monitored salary cap placed by the league management.

He stated that the club spends all its allowances in and around the standard salary cap of £ 4.26 million up to 5.1 million adding that if the Sharks spend £ 4.2 million on the team, then it is obvious that the Leicester Tigers spend a lot more money on the team.

Cohen also mentioned that the clubs in the Premiership have a salary cap manager and there is an audit report at the end of each season, so whatever Diamond is claiming that the club does is out of a lack of knowledge.