ENGLAND lock Dave Attwood will return to Bath next season, the Aviva Premiership club has confirmed.

Attwood spent the last four months of the 2017-18 season on loan to French side Toulon, where he impressed during nine appearances for the three-time European champions.

The 31-year-old, who has made 136 appearances for Bath, will return for pre-season training ahead of his seventh season at the club.

Director of Rugby Todd Blackadder, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming Dave back for pre-season training.

"He is a huge asset to the squad, and we’re really excited to have him back with us ready for the new season.

“There were discussions with Toulon, but we always wanted to bring him back to Bath.

"He showed during his short stint there his qualities as a player, but we also know what leadership qualities he brings on and off the field too.

“Supporters know that at his best there aren’t many better players in his position, and his return will be almost like a new signing for us.

"With the likes of Dave, Roko (Semesa Rokoduguni), Sam Underhill, Francois Louw all fit and raring to go, we go into the campaign in a great position.”

Former Bath and Ireland scrum-half Peter Stringer has retired from rugby to bring down the curtain on a decorated professional career spanning two decades.

Stringer's 20-year odyssey began with Munster in 1998 and he went on to make 230 appearances for the province, encompassing their Heineken Cup triumphs of 2006 and 2008

The 40-year-old also won 98 caps for Ireland over an 11-year period that reached its zenith with the 2009 Grand Slam, forming a highly-effective half-back combination with Ronan O'Gara.

More latterly he completed spells at Saracens, Newcastle, Bath, Sale and Worcester in the Aviva Premiership.

"From the age of five all I ever dreamed of doing was playing rugby," Stringer said in a statement released on his Twitter account.

"I cannot describe how it feels to have lived that dream for nearly all my life. The journey has been an uncompromising obsession filled with memories I will cherish forever.

"Thank you to my clubs in England. However, my proudest days on a rugby field came from wearing the red of Munster and the green of Ireland and will remain with me for the rest of my life."