George Catchpole has announced his retirement from professional rugby at the close of the 2017/18 season.

Born and raised in Norfolk, Catchpole represented Eastern Counties while attending Norwich School and he joined the Leicester Tigers academy as a teenager, making sufficient progress to earn his senior debut against the Ospreys in the Anglo-Welsh Cup during November 2013.

Along the way, Catchpole also gained representative selection with England Under-18s and Under-20s, including a victorious World Junior Championship campaign.

He was chosen by team-mates as Players’ Young Player of the Year at Tigers in 2014/15 and played a prominent role on the way to Anglo-Welsh Cup victory in 2016/17. He made a total of 17 first-team appearances for the club while also gaining experience on loan with Championship clubs Nottingham and Doncaster, though he was hit by injury in his final two seasons at Welford Road.