Australia international lock Nathan Sharpe has signed a new three-year deal with the Western Force.
Skipper decides against switch to Europe
Australia international lock Nathan Sharpe has signed a new three-year deal with the Western Force.
The 30-year-old's current RugbyWA and ARU contract was due to expire at the end of 2008 and he had reportedly received a number of offers from Europe, but the new deal will mean the Force captain remains in Perth until 2011.
"I had to put all the options in front of me so I could make a considered call, but it was a very easy decision to make," Sharpe said.
Fantastic
"I love living in Perth, it's a fantastic city and we have adopted it as our new home, so I'm looking forward to spending the next four years here.
"Being part of the Western Force means a lot to me and I'm looking forward to continuing to do that."
While acknowledging that the offers from overseas, particularly Europe, were significantly more lucrative, Sharpe has half an eye on the 2011 World Cup as well as success with the Force.
"I had a look at a few options in Europe, but there's a few things I wanted to do in Australian rugby before I left," he said.
"As a general rule, there's more money there, but there's other things to consider such as lifestyle and the conditions that we play rugby in here."
