Toomua departs Leicester early

Leicester Tigers have confirmed that Matt Toomua has been granted an early release, at the request of the player and his new club the Melbourne Rebels.

The Wallabies international was due to meet up with his new colleagues at the conclusion of the Premiership season, but Leicester Tigers agreed to the request to depart a week early.

Toomua flew back to Australia on Sunday and has already trained with the Rebels as they continue their Super Rugby campaign.

After joining Tigers in 2016, Toomua made his debut in a European Cup fixture against Glasgow and, although he missed most of that season with a knee injury, he returned to be named Supporters’ Player of the Year in 2018/19 and has made a total of 41 appearances for the club.

Toomua could feature for the Rebels as early as this weekend's game with the Bulls with Quade Cooper in doubt for the match against the Bulls after sustaining a head knock against Reds.