Wales captain Dan Biggar has officially said goodbye to Northampton Saints as he looks to link up with his new club Toulon.
Biggar, 33, left the Ospreys for Saints four and a half years ago and is again moving to pastures new, this time to join three-time European champions Toulon on the south coast of France in a mid-season deal.
After spending the autumn international series in camp with Wales despite being ruled out through injury, Biggar took one last trip (for now) to Franklin's Gardens on Saturday to say a final farewell to the club which has helped him become one of the best fly-halves in the northern hemisphere.
Speaking to his former teammates and coaches after Saints' 45-39 win over Barbarians, Biggar was in a reflective and humorous mood as he thanked the club while slipping in a few in-jokes to leave the room in stitches.
Presented with a framed No. 10 jersey with his name, Biggar said: "I will be forever grateful to every single one of you, you all welcomed me in. Honestly, I've absolutely loved every single moment of the last four and a half years. I'm gutted to be leaving so far, but I'll keep an eye on the results. This is a group of lads who have got absolutely everything it takes and it's been an absolute privilege to be a part of it.
"I came here with probably a bit of a mindset of a decent deal and sort of resting on my laurels a little bit, but every single person in this room and everyone who's been before made me think the exact opposite and want to get better and improve myself and players. Forever grateful and I hope that in years to come I can come back and catch up and see everyone."
He had the room roaring again with a final quip: "Final thing, Mitch [scrum-half Alex Mitchell], don't worry about today, I think you're a good player, mate." Mitchell was on the bench for the encounter.
Biggar's move to Toulon was officially announced early in November, after it had already been announced that he would be leaving Saints at the end of the 2022/23 season. However, his departure came earlier than expected after the French giants made an approach.
The initial deal runs until the end of the season, but is understood to come with multi-year options after that.
“I never envisaged leaving Saints midway through the season, but this opportunity came around very quickly, and I made my decision with a long-term view in mind for my family," Biggar previously said.
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