Marshall's shock departure

Ex-All Black scrum-half Justin Marshall has left the Ospreys and joined French club Montpellier on a one-year deal.

The 34-year-old, who has been capped 81 times by his country, signed the initial deal with the option to further extend it by a year.

Marshall joined the Ospreys from Leeds Tykes in April 2006 on an initial two-year contract before extending that to the end of 2008/9 season last year.

However, when the club recruited Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips in a big-money deal last year, the Kiwi's future was thrown into doubt.

It initially looked as though he was going to be highly motivated by the battle for a place in the side as he dismissed reports of a return home and opted to extend his lucrative deal.

The New Zealander though appears to have had a change of heart and his shock departure from the Liberty Stadium leaves the club short of options for the number nine jersey, given Phillips is currently recovering from a serious knee injury.