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All Black Luke McAlister last night said he wasn't abandoning New Zealand rugby in signing for English club Sale, but simply wanted a new experience.
McAlister, 23, will join the Sharks in early December on a two-year contract, which leaves the door open for a return to New Zealand before the 2011 World Cup.
"I'm definitely not turning my back on the All Blacks," he said. "I'm not turning my back on New Zealand."
He said he was due to talk to North Harbour chief executive Brett Hollister about his future after Sale.
"There's already an offer put forward from the union about me coming back," he said.
"I'm seriously looking at that and I'll think about that over the next few weeks."
The five-eighths joins several other All Blacks - including fellow World Cup squad members Aaron Mauger, Anton Oliver, Chris Jack, Byron Kelleher and Carl Hayman - in the exodus to Europe on lucrative deals.
But McAlister said money was not the issue for him.
"It's about experience, a new challenge, a new environment, and going now as well - I didn't want to go when I was 30," he said.
"I look at it as experiencing life on different levels."
Making the decision had been difficult and he had had to weigh up other Northern Hemisphere offers, including from Munster in Ireland and Toulouse in France.
He chose Sale because he knew the area, having spent 10 years of his boyhood in the north of England when his father, Charlie, played league for Oldham, Castleford and Sheffield.
"I guess it's appealing, because I used to live there, so that helps," he said.
"Just the whole outfit as well. They are quite professional and they have got good players."
McAlister said his father had not yet made a decision on whether to take up an academy coaching role with Sale.
He said All Black coach Graham Henry, who had hoped the player would remain in New Zealand rather than head overseas, was supportive when McAlister told him of his decision.
"He just said good luck. I respect him as a person and I respect his opinion.
"I had to do what was best for me and life goes on."
McAlister, who has 18 caps, made his test debut as a first five-eighths against the Lions two years ago.
He had earlier denied a British report that he had already signed a £250,000 ($653,000) contract with Sale.
- NZPA
