Leicester Tigers fan favourite confirms his departure

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The 30-year-old has been a key figure at Welford Road since arriving ahead of the 2019 campaign, making 141 appearances and scoring 31 tries in Tigers colours. He was also part of the side that lifted the Premiership title in 2022.

Tigers head coach Geoff Parling revealed the club had been in talks with Liebenberg for several months, but the forward ultimately chose to head home for family reasons.

“We would have loved him to stay – and I think from a rugby point of view he would have loved to stay as well,” Parling told BBC Radio Leicester.

“We knew we were signing Owen Wainwright with this in mind, another quality guy to come in, but Hanro has been a great influence on the group. Hopefully we can have a big finish to his time at Tigers.”

Leicester still have plenty to play for before Liebenberg departs. They host Bath in the Prem Rugby Cup semi-finals on Sunday and currently sit in the Premiership play-off places after winning seven of their opening 10 league games.

Liebenberg admitted the decision to leave was emotional after nearly six years at the club.

“This decision has been one of the toughest of my career,” he said.

“I love this place and everyone here has given me so much. The club and the trophies are special, but what I’ll always remember is the people and the fans.

“They’ve always had my back, always supported my family and looked out for me. You want to leave a place in a better position than when you found it, and I’d like to think I’ve done that.”