South African flanker Michael Rhodes extended his stay with three-time European champions Saracens after signing a one-year deal with the English club.
Rhodes, a popular player at the club with fans and teammates, joined Saracens in 2015 and has gone on to make 93 appearances for the club.
Rhodes, who can also play as a lock, has had a highly successful stint at Saracens winning the Premiership and European Champions Cup thrice each. He was also named Saracens’ Players’ Player of the Year in the 2016/2017 season, in which he was also nominated for the Premiership Player of the Year award.
The 32-year-old said it was a “privilege” to extend his stay at the club for another year adding that he wanted to put emphasis on actually enjoying playing rugby.
“It’s a place my family and I have really come to love over the past six years. We’ve obviously had some really good seasons; I’ve made a lot of good friends and I’ve just really enjoyed the way things are at the club,” Rhodes said.
Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall was pleased with Rhodes extending his stay in north London.
“He has played an invaluable role in our progression over the last five years and his experience and competitive spirit will be crucial for the challenge ahead.”
Rhodes played just once for the five-time Premiership champions this season due to a back injury. He has since resumed training and is raring to help the team finish the current season and embark on the challenge in the Championship.
“Obviously, we’re going to play at some different places that I’ve certainly never been to and I think if we can focus on enjoying what we’re doing, then results and things should follow. We have a team to put those types of things into perspective and really value the enjoyment that we associate with the hard work that gets done at the club.”
