George Chuter, the Leicester hooker and England 2007 World Cup finalist, on Monday announced his immediate retirement from professional rugby.

The 37-year-old is the first player to make 250 Premiership appearances, going on to line up in 292 first-team games in 13 seasons with Leicester.

He has played in seven Premiership finals at Twickenham, a record he shares with former Tigers club captain Geordan Murphy.

Chuter has been a part of a Leicester squad which reached four European Cup Finals and won 24 caps for England.