Father-of-two Beal racked up 482 points in 268 appearances during his time at Franklin’s Gardens by scoring 74 tries, 21 penalties, 21 conversions and three drop-goals, including a mammoth 60-metre effort in Saints’ derby victory over Leicester in his last season.

Beal also played in 15 tests for England between 1996 and 1999 and toured with the Lions in their victorious trip to South Africa in 1997. He was a member of Saints’ Heineken Cup-winning squad but missed out on playing in the final after breaking his leg.

Saints’ chief executive Allan Robson said: “We are pleased to further strengthen the board with someone of Nick’s calibre, who is not only a successful businessman in his own right, but also provides a strong rugby knowledge of the professional era and is proud of his involvement Saints during the many years he has lived in Northampton.”

Chairman Keith Barwell said: “The board had made a decision to strengthen its rugby knowledge and had already made strides in achieving this with the recent appointment of England and Lions physiotherapist Phil Pask. Like Phil, Nick was also a great Saintsman and served his club well during his time. I have no doubt he will continue to do so in his new role on the board.”

Beal said: “I feel honoured to be appointed as a director of Northampton Saints plc and having been out of rugby for nearly three years, I am looking forward to being involved once again. I hope to be able to use my rugby knowledge to help Northampton Saints achieve future success.”