England hooker George Chuter has signed a new contract with Guinness Premiership champions Leicester.

Chuter joins fellow internationals Lewis Moody, Marcos Ayerza of of Argentina and Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni in recently commiting future to the Welford Road club.

The 31-year-old made his debut in 2001 after joining the Midlands giants from Saracens.

"I'm very happy to have signed," Chuter said in a statement from the club.

"I've enjoyed my time here so far. I'm getting to the sort of stage in my career where there's not a lot of contracts left in the pipeline so, if I wanted to experience different types of rugby, then I'd have to do so before those doors close.

"But it came down to the fact that I'm enjoying my rugby and I'm still improving as a player here. I don't have that need to go elsewhere because there's still a lot I can achieve here with the club."

Despite receiving interest from elsewhere, Chuter admits that Leicester's recent success - last season they also won EDF Energy Cup and reached the final of the Heineken Cup - made his decision an easy one.

"I had a few offers but I didn't really go out with the intention of shopping myself around," added Chuter, capped 19 times for England.

"We've still got unfinished business in terms of winning trophies and we don't want to rest on what we did last year. Getting to three finals was great but I think everyone's still hungry for more trophies.

"As long as I've got the hunger to keep winning then I'll continue to play rugby. I can't see myself just playing for the sake of it or just for the money - I'm in the sport to win games and win trophies and that's still a big goal of mine."

Chuter was a member of the England squad that reached the 2007 World Cup final but has so far failed to make the 22 for the Six Nations, with coach Brian Ashton opting for Bristol's Mark Regan and Lee Mears of Bath.

But Tigers' forwards coach Richard Cockerill is adament Chuter's decision is the right one for the club.

"He's a world-class player and we're delighted that he's decided to stay with us," said Cockerill. "I know he's had a lot of interest from other clubs but he's been with us for seven years now and I'm really pleased he's committed himself for even longer.

"With the recent re-signings of Marcos (Ayerza) and (Martin) Castro (Castrogiovanni), it keeps good continuity at the club and that's what we want.

"The squad is getting stronger and stronger and George is an integral part of that. We've had a lot of people coming and going in the past few years and it's good for our stability and continuity to keep hold of quality players who have been here for a while."

Leicester failed to reach the quarter-finals of this year's Heineken Cup, but they are currently second in the Premiership and in the quarter-finals of the EDF Energy Cup.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport