Leicester legend Cole joins Tigers staff

Dan Cole made more than 340 senior appearances for Leicester Tigers during his playing career

Former Leicester Tigers and England prop Dan Cole has taken up a backroom role with the club following his retirement as a player.

The 38-year-old, whose final game for Tigers was their Premiership Final loss against Bath in June, becomes the new recruitment and retention manager.

It will see the four-time Premiership winner play on a key role in shaping Tigers squads of the future and will see him work closely alongside new head coach - and former Tigers team-mate - Geoff Parling.

Tigers chief executive Andrea Pinchen says she has "no doubt" that Cole will be a "great fit" with his new job, which will see him sit on a newly created recruitment and retention committee.

"He is a Leicester Tigers man through and through; he wants to see this club be successful and, pleasingly, wants to contribute and be a part of this exciting new chapter," Pinchin told the club website.

Cole's new job at Mattioli Woods Welford Road comes as part of an off-field restructure that sees general manager Richard Wilks leave the club.

Wilks, who initially worked for Tigers as head of recruitment, had overseen the club's entire rugby operations - including the men's side and both the women's and academy programmes - since the summer of 2023.

The role of general manager will not be directly replaced, with a new role for a head of rugby operations created instead.

Whoever takes on the head of rugby operations job will oversee the newly created recruitment and retention committee that will include Cole and Parling, as well as finance director Fintan Kennedy, head of analysis Matt Egan and head of pathway and rugby partnerships James Wade.