Tom Palmer happy to stay at Stade

Tom Palmer: staying in Paris

Despite rumours across the Channel that he might be leaving Stade Francais, Tom Palmer insists he will be definitely playing in Paris next season.

The England lock said: “I still have one year in my contract and I am going nowhere. I love living here and I love the culture in France.

“And to be honest I would like to stay in France after next season when my contract ends. But I will see my options and make a decision only then.”

Since moving to Stade Francais in 2009, Palmer has taken a new dimension and has become Martin Johnson’s first choice second row over the last international campaign. However he knows that with the RFU policy on picking players playing abroad, his chance to be selected for England might shrink.

“Obviously, it is a bit of a worry. I will speak to Martin (Johnson) and see what his opinion is.

“Jonny (Wilikinson) signed for another two years at Toulon so we will see how strict the RFU is on this policy,” the 32-year-old admitted.

Stade are out of the play-offs contention in the Top 14 but will play the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup on May 20^th against Harlequins in Cardiff.

“We have nothing to play for in the Top 14 and our only chance to qualify for next year’s Heineken Cup is to win the Challenge Cup so I will be going all out to try to,” Palmer said.

After that, his focus will be on preparing for the World Cup with England later this year.

He added: “The World Cup seems so far away right now but it will come quickly once we start training. I have never played in a World Cup so I’m very excited about it.”