Northampton bring in Cook after latest retirement

Northampton Saints have signed scrum-half Chris Cook on a short-term deal following the retirement of Henry Taylor.

The 27-year-old Taylor is set to pursue a career outside of rugby, following stints with Harlequins Academy, Loughborough Students, Bedford Blues, Saracens and the Saints.

“I’ve been lucky enough to make some amazing memories at Saints and throughout my entire time playing rugby, and made some even better friends doing it,” the former England under-20 international said.

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“But now is the right time for me to try my hand at something new and I’m really excited about this new opportunity I’ve been given to pursue a new career path outside of rugby.

“I want to thank everyone at Northampton for their support over this decision, and I wish the squad and all the Saints supporters the best for the future.”

Saints’ director of rugby Chris Boyd said: “Henry has been an important part of our playing group over the past two seasons and leaves with our best wishes for the future.

“He’s been completely committed to Saints throughout his time at the Gardens and I’d like to thank him for all he has done in Black, Green and Gold.”

The 30-year-old Cook joins from Bristol Bears as injury cover, and will provide great deal of experience to the Saints squad having spent over ten years with Bath before joining the Bears in 2020.

Boyd added: “We’re very pleased to bring Chris into our set-up on a short-term basis. He’s a scrum-half with a lot of Premiership experience – he’s shown he can perform at the top level and will add depth and quality to the group we already have.

“Chris joins Alex Mitchell, Tom James, Connor Tupai and Jake Garside in our stable of English-qualified No.9s. We have a range of experience in that group, but a huge amount of potential across the board, and we’re confident all five will help to bring the best out of each other this coming season.”