Mass exodus at Leeds after promotion failure heralds squad revamp

Like USA prop MacDonald – who has played 127 times for Leeds – fellow departures Lee Blacklett, Scott Barrow and Tom Denton had all featured for the West Yorkshire club during their time in the Premiership.

Others to leave following tomorrow’s final Championship game against Cornish Pirates at Headingley Carnegie include New Zealander lock Sean Hohneck and ex-Australia Test fly-half Lachlan MacKay, who has failed to play at all this season due to injury.

Play-off results last weekend mean Leeds can no longer earn an immediate return to the Premiership and they have started to re-shape their squad.

However, head coach Diccon Edwards insists he has retained all of the players he desired including captain Andy Titterrell.

“We have been working hard behind the scenes on our recruitment policy for next season and attracting the right calibre of player, and importantly person, to our club,” he said.

“We’re very pleased with how those discussions have progressed but, obviously, when you are talking to players about their livelihoods, an important part of that is what competition they will be playing in.

“Following Saturday’s game we will be reviewing the season, confirming the areas we need to strengthen and will be in a position to announce new signings by the end of the month.

“This Saturday is a chance for supporters to thank those players who are leaving the club, a number of whom have given outstanding service to Leeds Carnegie over a number of years.”

Robbie Shaw, Halani Aulika and Ed Williamson, who all joined mid-season on short-term contracts, plus Gareth Denman, Alex Rieder, James Tincknell and Dan White, are also exiting.