Rice not for turning if England come calling

DECLAN RICE has pledged his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland and is adamant his position won’t change, even if England manager Gareth Southgate were to come knocking on his door. The 19-year-old West Ham defender, who is set to make his senior Irish debut against Turkey in Friday’s friendly, is adamant ‘there is no decision to be made’ about who he should play for. ‘There’s no decision to be made,’ said the Londoner of Cork lineage. ‘I’m here now with Ireland at the moment and I have been called up by Martin (O’Neill). ‘And if I didn’t want to play for Ireland I wouldn’t be here (in Dublin) picking up this (Under-19 Player of the Year) award. ‘England have never wanted me at under-age level, it’s

always been Ireland,’ he added. ‘I’m really looking forward to this week and I’m looking forward to getting to know the boys better. To go away to Turkey and start the new campaign is something I’m really looking forward to.’ As the game on Friday is a friendly, Rice could still switch to England, but his demeanour and tone indicates he is fully committed to Ireland. ‘I haven’t had a call from anyone at the FA. Not at all. ‘England have never wanted me at underage level, it’s always been Ireland. I haven’t had a call from anyone in the FA yet.’ And the London-born defender insists it wouldn’t matter even if Southgate or the FA got in touch? ‘No, not at all. I’m fully focused on playing with Ireland. We’ve got an important U21 game coming up,’ he said.