Leicester Tigers and England Saxons inside centre, Billy Twelvetrees, will be leaving Leicester at the end of the season to join Gloucester.
The 23 year old's current deal expires in the summer, and while Tigers had expected him to sign on, it was revealed that Gloucester had offered him a pay rise, and the opportunity to be their first choice inside centre.
At Leicester, Twelvetrees has struggled for game time as Anthony Allen and Manu Tuilagi are ahead of him in the pecking order.
Tigers Head Coach, Richard Cockerill, seemed disappointed by the announcement, saying:
"On Monday he told me he was staying, on Wednesday I was told by his agent he was signing for Gloucester."
"They have assured him of being a first choice number 12 for them and his salary has been much improved."
"If he does not want to stay and fight for his spot, that is disappointing. There are world-class players holding tackle bags in training every week."
"I did not want to lose him and he will be fully involved until the end of the season."
It is bad news for Leicester who will be looking to maintain the size of their squad after they struggled for wins during the world cup when many of their players were away on international duty.
