Leicester Tigers has reported the departure of two more key figures.
Director of rugby Geordan Murphy has left the Welford Road ground “by mutual consent” after it was decided his contract would not be renewed.
Discussions had been taking place about extending the contract, which had run until the end of the 2020/21 season.
Instead he has left the club with immediate effect.
Meanwhile former star Rory Underwood has left his role as non-executive director, also with immediate effect.
The former England winger had been on the board since 2007.
They are the latest high profile departures from the club which has lost millions in matchday revenues as a result of lockdown.
Coaches Boris Stankovich and Rob Taylor both left the club in recent weeks.
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Back in July Tigers confirmed the Covid-19 crisis had led to circumstances in which five players – Kyle Eastmond, Noel Reid, Manu Tuilagi, Greg Batemen and Telusa Veainu – were leaving the club.
And in May the club announced that chief executive Simon Cohen was leaving after eight years “in the context of the challenges presented by Covid-19”. He was replaced by former chief operating officer Andrea Pinchen.
Back in the summer 31 members of staff were made redundant because of the huge financial hit from the pandemic.
The club said because of the size of its stadium and fan base it had been affected more than most Premiership Rugby clubs
Geordan Murphy joined Tigers as a teenager, making his senior debut in 1997, and going on to make 322 appearances in 16 seasons, including four years as club captain.
After retiring in 2013 – having won eight Premiership and two European titles – Murphy moved into coaching and rose through the ranks as skills coach, backs coach, attack coach, head coach and director of rugby.
He is Leicester’s leading try-scorer and appearance holder in European rugby and is 17th on the club’s all-time tryscorers’ chart.
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He said: “Winning has been the easy part.
“It is when things are not going well, when you are losing and having to get back up every day and put on a brave face, that you know who your friends are and, to all of those who supported me through those times, those are the friends I will have for life.”
The club will not be recruiting a new director of rugby but will appoint someone to oversee the “strategic vision and off-field responsibilities” at its Oval Park training ground.
Former England international Rory Underwood represented the club as a player and coach and then a board member.
He was an RAF pilot for 18 years during his playing career and now runs his own management consultancy, Wingman.
He was awarded an MBE for services to sport in 1995.
Tigers chairman Peter Tom said: “We thank Rory for his service to our board for the past 13 years and all that he has given this club, on and off the pitch.
“On behalf of all board members and everyone at the club, including our supporters, I am extremely grateful for what he has given us and wish him well in the future.”
In other club news Leicester Tigers have signed dietary supplement business The Turmeric Co as an official nutrition partner of the club, and FUJIFILM as its official supporter photography supplier.