St Helens winger Regan Grace has opened up about his decision to cross codes and join Racing 92, admitting it was tough to make but he didn’t want to leave it too late to try his hand at rugby union.
Grace, who played the 15-man code as a youngster before being signed by Saints in 2014, will join the French side in 2023.
The 25-year-old has played over 140 games for St Helens and won three Grand Finals with the club.
“It was tough, it was a massive decision for me,” he said.
“Saints has become like my family; I’d even say Super League has become like a family to me. I love being part of this sport in general. It was a massive decision I had to make, but I’m also excited for a new challenge.
“Going back to the first sport I started playing as a kid and of my beginnings and answering some questions about whether I could have made it in union before I went down the league route.
“I just didn’t want to leave it too late to give it a crack. [But] that’s in the future. Right now I’m focusing on things we have to get right here.”
Grace scored a try in St Helens’ amazing come-from-behind win over Wigan at Magic Weekend on Saturday.
“It was the cliché of never write off the Saints,” he said.
“We showed that today. There’s been games in the past where we’ve done that, and showed that willingness to win any way possible. It was an ugly win for us, just the desperation and desire not to be beaten.
“It was a great display from the boys and I loved it.
“They’re always big games [against Wigan] and that’s what you want as a fan and as spectator in sport in general. It’s amazing playing in it and the game could have gone either way. Both sets of fans would have realised that’s a great game.”
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