🔗 Share this article England's fly-half Ford chooses to remain with Sale Sharks instead of R360 opportunity George Ford earned his century of appearances for England against the South American side earlier this year The experienced fly-half has confirmed that he rejected an approach from R360 to continue his England career The 32-year-old athlete has agreed to a new contract extension with his current club, where he has played 44 games and accumulated 341 points since arriving in 2022 National Team Dedication England had previously confirmed that any players who participate in the new league, like other stars playing abroad, would be not available for international duty "They reached out to my representative to have discussions, but my choice around it was entirely based on the fact that I've got tremendous desire to represent my country," said Ford "I've loved my time at the club as well and it never really got any beyond than that in terms of discussions with the proposed new league" "I'm passionate about and I'm passionate about playing for England. I desire to have the opportunity to play for my country still. I believe I've still got a great deal to give in a England jersey" Competition Development R360's aim of creating eight all-star squads for a series of events in major cities was hit by a unified restriction from major rugby bodies recently England, the All Blacks, Ireland and France were supported by Scotland, the Wallabies, the Springboks and Italy in declaring they would not pick any league participants for international matches Financial Considerations Director of rugby Alex Sanderson estimated that, for top athletes like Ford, a move to R360 could provide a third more than staying in the domestic league He added that moves to the Japanese league could be a opportunity to double their money, while tax breaks for sportspeople enhance the economic benefit of Top 14 clubs Ford has scored 30 points in three Prem games in the current season Team Significance "It's fundamental for Sale Sharks, essential for the club progressing, that we have him at the leadership position," stated the director "It's bigger than just how exceptional he is on the field" "This includes his background, his desire to lead the team and how highly motivated he is" "He inspires for me as a coach, not just the players that he shares the field with" "It is a massive, major demonstration of commitment from him for the pathway the club's going" Selection Landscape The player admitted the current depth and quality of fly-half options is exceptional during his time with England, with ex-captain the experienced player back at Saracens and in consideration for a selection again "It's excellent, right? It's the ideal situation to be really in terms of squad depth. I'd imagine the head coach is quite happy having four options like that," said the player "Selection is so subjective. That's somewhat a partially out of my control right now, because my main focus at the moment is performing as effectively as I can for the club" "If I worry too much about selection prospects, I'm not going to get selected. It distracts me from my job in the here and now" Manager's Viewpoint Sanderson though was definite in his backing for his man "There's only one the fly-half," he said "Perhaps you could secure a game by 10 or 15 more points with a Marcus Smith. I think you'll definitely lose less games with George Ford because he virtually makes it inevitable with what he achieves with the ball that the result is going to favor your team"