Leicester Tigers legend ‘Dusty’ Hare is making a return to Welford Road.

Hare first arrived at Welford Road as a player in 1976 and made nearly 400 first-team appearances for the club. As a full-back, he recorded more than 4,500 points in the Leicester shirt on his way to becoming rugby’s world record points-scorer and starred in the team that reached five cup finals in six years up to 1983.

After 25 England caps and selection for the 1983 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, Hare’s playing career ended in 1989 with a world record 7,191 points to his name.

He returned to Tigers in 1994 in a player development role and then became chief scout, responsible for spotting and recruiting a succession of players before joining Northampton Saints in 2010.

Now Hare is back at Welford Road in a scouting role, working with the team management on player recruitment.

Ged Glynn, Tigers head of rugby operations, said: “Dusty is a legend of the Tigers and of the game of rugby, and we’re delighted to be able to welcome him back to the club.

“He has a deep knowledge of the game and the players in it, and we look forward to working with him again.

“Recruitment is a complex and competitive area for all professional clubs and we hope to use Dusty’s vast experience in spotting and recommending suitable talent to keep Tigers at the top end of the game.”

Starting a third spell at Welford Road, Hare said: “Recruitment and development of players is vitally important as standards continue to rise in the professional game.

“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of finding those players who are not on anybody’s radar and seeing if they can come in and want to be better players and make it to the next level. Squads are getting better and better, and that makes the challenge even harder.

“I’ve been in rugby a long time and now I’m coming back ‘home’ to start another chapter in my career. We’re coming up to a very important part of the year in terms of recruitment and I’m looking forward to being involved.”