Leeds Carnegie lock Erik Lund to join Biarritz

Lund will make his final appearance for Leeds at Bath

Second-row Erik Lund will leave Leeds Carnegie at the end of the season and move to France.

The Norway international, 30, will join his brother Magnus at French Heineken Cup finalists Biarritz for next season on a two-year contract.

"I will always be extremely grateful to Leeds Carnegie for believing in me and giving me the chance to play in the Guinness Premiership," said Lund.

"It was incredibly difficult because of how special this group are here."

The giant lock became part of Leeds' first choice second-row pairing alongside captain Marco Wentzel and has made 23 appearances this season.

He will play his 74th and final game for the Headingley club on Saturday away at Bath.

Lund added: "There are some obvious reasons why I decided to join Biarritz, notably the chance to play alongside my brother, to play in the Heineken Cup and experience a new lifestyle. All of those were beyond Leeds Carnegie's control.

"We have developed a great team spirit here and that is all about us working together and it was an uneasy decision for me to decide to leave that behind. However, I go with a lot of satisfaction with what we have achieved this year.

"I feel I am leaving the club in a strong position and I am really pleased for the rest of the lads that they will be playing at the highest level next year," added the Norway international.

"If we can win at Bath, we can keep our position in ninth and that would be a huge success, especially given where we were at Christmas. It would be great to finish off with a win.

"I have got a lot of friends here at Leeds and I will always have a strong link to the team.

"With the coaching staff and players that are in place now, plus those they are looking to recruit, I know that the club will be going from strength to strength in the future."