Radlinski rejects union offers
August 28, 2001

Wigan Warriors fullback Kris Radlinski has committed is future to rugby league and rejected the chance to switch codes.

The Great Britain international has signed a new five-year contract with the Super League club which will keep him at the JJB Stadium until the end of 2006.

The 25-year-old Wigan-born Radlinski had been directly approached by England coach Clive Woodward and had an offer to join a leading Zurich Premiership club.

The new deal was hammered out in talks with Wigan chairman Maurice Lindsay, who told a hurriedly-arranged news conference: "I was gobsmacked by how much rugby union were prepared to pay Kris. He had a magnificent offer and accepted a lower deal from us."

Lindsay confirmed that the game's governing body had made a contribution to the deal through the newly-created Club Great Britain funding agency, which helped keep St Helens hooker Keiron Cunningham in rugby league.

Radlinski told the news conference: "I always did want to stay but I was pretty close to giving it up. That would have been pretty foolish.

"I consider myself very fortunate. All I ever wanted to do was play for Wigan. The fact that I've been here for eight years and always given everything I've got was a massive difference."

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