Dan Cole among five Leicester Tigers to sign new deals

England prop Dan Cole has committed his future to Leicester on a day when the Tigers announced new contracts for a host of players.

The club also announced on Monday that Mike Williams, Telusa Veainu, Matt Toomua and Greg Bateman had all agreed new deals.

Academy graduate Cole has made 185 Leicester appearances since his 2007 debut, and he admitted it was not a hard choice for him to remain at his home-town club.

"I am very happy to sign a new contract at Leicester," said Cole. "The quality and depth of the playing squad along with the direction of Matt O'Connor made re-signing an easy decision to make."

Leicester head coach Matt O'Connor said: "Coley is an outstanding player and a great example of a player who has come through the ranks at the club, earning his place in the senior squad and progressing to become first choice for club and country.

"He is among a core of senior professionals who have come through together here and are now in key leadership roles within the squad."

The Zimbabwe-born Williams, who joined the Tigers in 2015, has been chasing a place in Eddie Jones' England side after being included in the training squad for the Six Nations.

In a statement on the club's official website, Williams said: "I am honoured to extend my stay at the club. It was an easy decision to make, I was more than happy to renew my stay here.

"Leicester were so good to me throughout my injury to my arm, it's a great place to play rugby and we have exciting times ahead of us as a squad.

Tonga international Veainu had reportedly been a target from east Midlands rivals Northampton Saints after impressing with five tries in eight appearances.

Centre Toomua, who has signed a deal until 2020, is in his second year at Leicester but the Australian spent the majority of the first season on the sidelines after injuring his knee just two games into his Tigers career.

Bateman, who has played across the front row for Leicester, joined from Exeter Chiefs in 2015.