Sale Sharks and England fly-half George Ford has committed his long-term future to the club by signing a new three-year contract. <\/p>\n
The 32-year-old, who has won 102 England caps, became Shark\u00a0#358\u00a0when he returned home to the north to sign for Sale ahead of the 2022\/23 season.<\/p>\n
After recovering from an achilles injury, he led the team to a Prem final in his first season and has gone on to make 44 Sharks appearances, scoring 341 points.<\/p>\n
This season, he produced a player of the match performance in round one, before slotting two trademark drop goals in a narrow defeat to former club Bath in round two.<\/p>\n
On Friday night he kicked 12 points to guide Sharks to a record 57-5 win over Newcastle Red Bulls.<\/p>\n
On the international front, George made his England debut in 2014 and played a key role as Eddie Jones\u2019s men reached the World Cup final in 2019. This summer he won his 100th\u00a0cap as he guided England to a series win in Argentina.<\/p>\n
George said: \u201cIt\u2019s brilliant to have the contract agreed. I\u2019ve really enjoyed my time here and I\u2019ve loved representing the north. The importance of that isn\u2019t lost on me. I drive from Saddleworth to Carrington every day and I can see the city in the distance and it makes me incredibly proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to represent the region and the people up here and I want to inspire the next generation. You see so many kids up here who are passionate about playing rugby and I want us to be a team who inspire those kids to want to do what we\u2019re lucky enough to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the players and the coaches that we have here I feel like I can still improve and be challenged pas a player. I feel the best place for me to do that is right here.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a team we want to take the next step and I\u2019m more determined than ever to help us do that. The ambition from the club is obvious and I know we\u2019re going to achieve great things in the future, but we\u2019re at our best when we focus on the next game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep playing well for Sale Sharks and I want to keep influencing the team as much as I can. That comes first. I love playing for my country but I know that I only get that opportunity if I\u2019m playing consistently well for Sale. So that\u2019s my focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t make a decision like this just on rugby, there\u2019s loads more to consider. My wife is running four restaurants as well as being a full-time mum and to be around to help and support her in any way I can is so important to me. That\u2019s played a big part in us being so settled and happy here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharks Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: \u201cGeorge is in the form of his life and he\u2019s a player we\u2019ve built a team around. He\u2019s the sort of player who attracts top quality players to want to play for the club because they all want to learn from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the first people I speak to post-game and confide in ahead of the challenge of responding to a win or a loss, because of the way he sees the game. As much as he inspires the players, he inspires the coaches too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows the vision and the ambition of a club that\u2019s wanting to lay down a real foundation for the future. It shows what we\u2019re all about.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge could have his pick of any club in the world and he chooses Sale Sharks and that\u2019s big testament to us and what we\u2019re building.\u201d<\/p>\n
George made his Prem debut for Leicester Tigers in 2009, becoming the youngest rugby union player to make his professional debut in England, at just 16 years and 237 days.<\/p>\n
After winning a Premiership title with Tigers in 2013, he moved to Bath, winning the Gilbert Golden Boot as the top-points scorer and winning LV= Young Player of the Year, before returning to Leicester for the 2018-19 season.<\/p>\n
In total he made 88 appearances for Leicester Tigers before making the switch to return home to Oldham, where he runs a caf\u00e9 with brother Joe, who was named Sharks\u2019 attack coach this season.<\/p>\n
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