JAMIE Gibson says bidding goodbye to London Irish to join Leicester Tigers was the easiest and the hardest decision of his career.

The 22-year-old back rower, former captain of Marlborough College, left the Exiles at the end of the season and joined England’s most successful club last week.

For Gibson, who came through the youth system with Irish and made 70 first-team appearances, trained with the Aviva Premiership champions for the first time on Monday, the chance to test himself at Welford Road was an opportunity he could not turn down.

“When you know that you’re out of contract, you start thinking about moving on and I ended up with an offer from Leicester and one to stay at London Irish,” said Gibson, pictured, whose family live in Mildenhall.

“It’s almost impossible to turn down the chance to join a club with the heritage of Leicester but leaving Irish was a difficult decision because I’d been there for years.

“In the end, it was the easiest and the most difficult choice I’ve ever had to make.

“I felt that a change may be the best thing for me and playing for the Tigers gives the best chance of reaching my potential.

“I can’t wait to try and learn from people like Julian Salvi and Tom Croft – he’s involved with the Lions and that’s the pinnacle of international rugby.

“It’s the equivalent of joining Manchester United in football and I feel ready to deal with the pressure, playing in the Heineken Cup year in, year out, and in front of all those people at Welford Road.”

Gibson made his senior England debut in a non-cap game against Barbarians in May last year and was called up as a late replacement for last summer’s tour of South Africa.

He believes joining the ten-time Premiership kings will give his international ambitions a further boost.

“I’ve always wanted to play for England and if you can prove that you’re performing at the highest level, then that will increase your chances,” said Gibson, who will complete an Open University course this season after deferring his degree in Classics from Oxford University to concentrate on rugby.

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