A trio of Leicester internationals have signed new deals with the English Premiership club. Lewis Moody, Ollie Smith and Geordan Murphy, who are on tour in New Zealand with the Lions, have all put pen to paper on new contracts at Welford Road.

Ireland international Murphy, 27, has spent his whole career at Leicester.

"I love Leicester. I've been here since the age of 19; it's the only big club I know and it would be hard to imagine playing my rugby anywhere else," said the full back, who has signed for three more years.

"A lot of us players have grown up together at Leicester, having come through the various age groups and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to play alongside all my mates and to have such a great bunch of fans is an added bonus, too."

Moody has signed for an additional three years and Smith for two.

Meanwhile, former All Blacks outhalf Andrew Mehrtens announced yesterday he was leaving New Zealand to join English club Harlequins in a two-year deal.

Mehrtens, New Zealand's highest all-time scorer in Tests with 967 points, said he would head to Britain in early July at the completion of the Lions series.

"I am very excited about joining Harlequins," Mehrtens said in a statement published on the London club's website.

"Whether I had been selected to play for the All Blacks against the Lions or not, I have reached a time in both my rugby career and my personal life where I am seeking new challenges."

Mehrtens, 32, played 70 Tests for New Zealand, including the 1995 World Cup final, in a glittering international career that spanned nearly a decade.

Samoa prop Census Johnston has won an appeal to shorten his suspension to five weeks over a dangerous tackle, the IRB appeals committee announced yesterday.

Johnston was initially banned for eight weeks for an illegal shoulder charge on Australia centre Morgan Turinui in last weekend's 74-4 loss at the Olympic stadium. The 24-year-old tighthead prop pleaded guilty to the charge but said his actions were not malicious.