Eleven players are leaving Franklin’s Gardens, including Phil Dowson, who will forever be the first Saint to lift a major domestic trophy after skippering the team to the 2010 LV= Cup title.
Dowson has signed with Worcester Warriors next season, with Samu Manoa and Salesi Ma’afu both heading to Toulon, Alex Day to the Cornish Pirates, Joel Hodgson and Tom Ryder to Yorkshire Carnegie, Will Hooley to Exeter and Dom Waldouck to London Irish.
Also leaving the Saints are Cam Dolan, Tom Mercey and Josh Skelcey.
Mallinder said that all of the players had made good contributions to the squad’s efforts in their time at the club.
“We are saying goodbye to a number of players this summer,” he said. “For a squad to be successful it needs all of the players to have a positive attitude throughout the week, not just on match days, and to contribute in training and in meetings as well as in the games. The players who are leaving have all played their part in helping establish us as one of the top teams in England over the past few years, and we wish them well for their future.”
Saints’ confirmed signings for next season include props Kieran Brookes (Newcastle) and Paul Hill (Yorkshire Carnegie), forwards Michael Paterson (Sale), Sion Bennett (Scarlets) and Jamie Gibson (Leicester), scrum-half Tom Kessell (Cornish Pirates), fly half JJ Hanrahan (Munster) and centre Pat Howard (Western Province).
