Cockerill confirms Thorpe arrival at Tigers

Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill has confirmed that his side have recruited back-row Richard Thorpe from London Irish.
Thorpe made 135 appearances for the Exiles, and with the Tigers struggling with some injuries in the back-row ahead of next season, Cockerill has acted quickly to bolster his resources.
Cockerill told the Leicester Mercury: “Richard Thorpe has signed with us until the end of this season. We came to agreement with London Irish who have paid some of his salary for this year.
“That gives us a quality player who has played a lot of Premiership rugby and will slot straight into the squad. It is a move that is very cost effective for us.”
With Tom Croft, Craig Newby and Ben Woods all set to miss the start of the season, Thorpe may well start the season in the first XV.
Thorpe originally announced the transfer on his Twitter account 12 days ago but he quickly removed the post. Thorpe jumping the gun would have unimpressed Cockerill and the Tigers boss has emphasised that it will be the last time that it happens.
“He [Thorpe] will not be using Twitter to be discussing any of those things anymore,” said Cockerill. “If he didn’t know beforehand, he certainly knows about it now.”