Super 14
Giteau happy at the Force - for now
Scrum.com
January 12, 2009
Western Force fly-half Matt Giteau addresses the media following a pre-season training session held at McGillivray Oval in Perth, Australia on  January 12, 2009.
Giteau addresses the media following his first pre-season training session with the Force in Perth © Getty Images
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Western Force fly-half Matt Giteau insists he is fully committed to the side ahead of the forthcoming Super 14 season.

The 26-year-old Wallabies star, who returned to pre-season training on Monday, recently ended speculation over his playing future by confirming he will see out the last year on his current contract with the Perth-based team.

The collapse of the multi-million third party sponsorship deal with failed duel company Firepower left Giteau with a major financial shortfall prompting reports that he was keen to secure a move away from the Force. As a result he was the subject of a bid from the Brumbies to take him back to Canberra while a reported A$10m offer was also tabled by French Top 14 side Bayonne in the hope of luring him to Europe.

"See a lot of the stuff that was said wasn't actually said by me," Giteau told reporters at the McGillivray Oval. "So I tried to stay away from that and focus on football, and when I had my break that was when I was going to decide what to do. I looked at certain things but in the end I've enjoyed my time here and I wanted to honour the last year of my contract."

But Giteau admitted he had considered the lucrative offer to head to the northern hemisphere. "Yeah, it was (tempting) but, again, nothing I really thought of seriously. It was just an offer that was put to me and I quickly decided that I want to stay in Australia.

"I want to play my best football in what I believe is the best competition and that's Super 14 and playing for Australia. It (playing overseas) is something I do want to do at some stage but when I do it I'm not too sure."

Giteau added that the coaching set-up and the playing squad would be key factors in his decision to extend his stay with the Force but did offer some hope to fans. "Home's here," Giteau said. "I've got a place here, I love Perth [and the] surfing ... it's got everything I like doing."

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