Goode commits to the Tigers

Andy Goode has ended speculation over his future by signing a new three-year deal.

Andy Goode has ended speculation of a move away from Leicester Tigers by signing a new three-year contract at Welford Road.

The England fly half has been courted by Clermont Auvergne over recent months, as the French club look for a replacement for the departing Stephen Jones, but Goode has finally signalled his intention to play for the Tigers.

Goode has been in scintillating form for his club this season, leading them into the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and the semi-finals of the Powergen Cup, while putting real pressure on Charlie Hodgson for his England jersey.

After extending his stay at Leicester for a further three years, the talented outside half revealed it was a relief to sort out his future ahead of the Tigers' busy end-of-season schedule.

"I am really pleased to have sorted everything out," the stand-off told www.stellargroup.co.uk

"Talks have taken some time, but these things always tend to do so and I am very pleased that my agent and I have managed to reach an excellent agreement with the club.

"I have spent the vast majority of my career at Leicester, my family are happy and settled and we have made a lot of friends here. Allied to that, we have an excellent young team here and there is a lot of potential to win some silverware in the next few years.

"Now I am just going to concentrate on doing the best I can for the team and trying to ensure that we fulfil our promise, starting with the game against Wasps tomorrow."

At just 25 years of age, Goode became only the fourth player in history to score 1,000 points in the English Premiership.

One of his more memorable performances this season came in the crunch European encounter with Stade Francais, where the Leicester man recovered from a shaky start to inspire his troops to late glory - producing a delightful chip for the penultimate try.