Wales captain and fly-half Dan Biggar has completed a shock midseason move to Toulon from Northampton Saints, both clubs announced on Friday.
Biggar had already made clear his intention to leave Northampton at the end of the season with his contract up, but he will now join Toulon with immediate effect.
“I never envisaged leaving Saints midway through the season, but this opportunity came around very quickly,” Biggar said. “I made my decision with a long-term view in mind for my family.”
Biggar began his career at Ospreys where he made 221 appearances before joining Northampton in 2018, helping the club lift the Premiership Rugby Cup in his debut season. The fly-half’s last game for Northampton came in October.
Northampton chief executive Mark Darbon said: “Given the circumstances — with Dan’s contract ending at the end of the season, his availability for the rest of the current campaign, the multi-year offer to Dan from Toulon which was contingent on him moving immediately, and the quality of the up-and-coming fly-halves already at the club — we wanted to be pragmatic when Dan approached us.
“Dan’s not just a world-class player, he’s also one of the nicest blokes you could meet. He’s someone who always did everything he could to help the club, on and off the pitch. So, we’ll miss him, but he departs with our very best wishes.”