Wasps confirm Elliot Daly is leaving the club

Wasps have confirmed that Elliot Daly will be leaving the Club at the end of the season.

Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “Elliot triggered a release clause in his contract and despite our best efforts to keep him at the club, unfortunately, he has decided to move onto pastures new for the 2019/20 season.

“We are really disappointed to lose Elliot, we brought him through the ranks from his teenage years and have seen him flourish into an established England international and also a British & Irish Lion.

“He has really developed his all-round game in the Black and Gold, having been a tremendous performer for us over the years and I am sure he will continue to give his all for the Club till the end of the season.”

Daly, who has accrued 404 points in 188 appearances for Wasps, said: “This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life.

“Despite some of the rumours flying around, the training ground has nothing to do with why I’ve come to my decision to leave. I simply feel it is the right time for me to seek a new challenge next season after the World Cup.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Wasps, from my old Junior Academy coaches right up to Dai and Chairman Derek Richardson, for giving me the opportunities and helping me reach the top of the game over the last 12 years.

“Wasps will always have a special place in my heart and I will certainly be giving everything to the jersey to try and finish the season strongly.”

Daly only signed a new contract with the Coventry-based club in 2017 off the back of a successful tour with the British & Irish Lions, but he's now followed likes of Nathan Hughes and Willie Le Roux out the exit door.

The departures of props Matt Mullan, Will Stuart and Jake Cooper-Woolley were also confirmed by Wasps last month, while coming the other way were All Black tighthead Jeff Toomaga-Allen and Exeter Chiefs tighthead Jack Owlett, along with Toulon centre Malakai Fekitoa.

The England fullback is set to join Saracens, as he seeks trophies both domestically and in Europe. Saracens were Champions Cup winners in 2016 and 2017 and look well-placed in 2019 having sailed through their pool with six wins, accumulating 28 points in total, while Wasps finished bottom of Pool 1, with a draw and five defeats.

Daly will have to compete with current full-back Alex Goode for the 15 jersey, a player who is nominated as the EPCR European player of the year off the back of his performances in the Champions Cup this season. Daly can also operate on the wing, where he is rated as the 4th best left winger in the Premiership in the RugbyPass Index, with an overall RPI of 73, but it's at centre where his club future may lie, operating outside Brad Barritt.

More to follow...

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