By Jason Harris
January 24 2003

Wales centre Tom Shanklin is considering a move to the Principality, once his Saracens contact expires and the re-organisation west of the Severn Bridge is complete, in order to improve his chances of adding to his seven internatioanl caps. "I have thought about it a lot as I have always wanted to play my club rugby in Wales," Shanklin told the South Wales Echo.

"I have got another season with Saracens after this and hopefully by then Welsh rugby will have sorted itself out in terms of having provinces or five teams."

But the 23-year-old hasn't forgotten that his time with the Men in Black has been an important one for his rugby development

"When I first signed for Saracens I knew I had a lot to learn and who better to learn from than the likes of Tim Horan and Thomas Castaignede.

Speaking about how he kept in touch with the game in the Principality he said

"Steve Hansen has never pressured me into moving and I keep him up to date with performances by sending him videos of my games.

Shanklin, who has to commute twice a week from his north London home to Cardiff for training sessions with the Welsh squad added

"The travelling is something that I have to do to play for Wales, but certainly moving make life easier for me."