Stuart-Smith is a product of Gloucester's top youth academy

The England Under-21 scrum-half is one of the sport's rising talents but after an injury-hit season at Headingley he has decided to move on.

"I respect Clive's decision although I am a bit disappointed and it does bemuse me," said Davies.

"He has developed well and I hope he will continue to next season."

The 20-year-old joined Tykes from Gloucester at the start of the season but a persistent knee injury meant that he was not able to command a regular first-team place.

We were asked to give him an opportunity and we did Leeds director of rugby Phil Davies

"We have worked hard to get Clive back to his best after his knee injuries and supported him while he has gone on to play for England Under-21s," said Davies.

"That has meant we have not seen as much as we would have liked of him in a Tykes shirt.

"Effectively he has only played one-and-a-half games for Leeds since the turn of the year but what he has done with us this season he has done well.

"We were asked to give him an opportunity when he came up from Gloucester last summer and we gave him that."