Josh Charnley: Warrington wing has no regrets about time in rugby union

Josh Charnley last started a game for Sale Sharks on 10 February

Josh Charnley says he has no regrets about his time in rugby union after returning to rugby league with Warrington Wolves.

The 26-year-old crossed codes to join Sale from Wigan in 2016, but switched back again to join the Wire on Monday.

Charnley has agreed a deal with the Wire until the end of the 2020 season after spending 18 months with Sale.

"I'm glad I gave it a go and now I'm dedicated to Warrington Wolves and kicking on," Charnley said.

"When I signed in rugby union, I was thinking 'what if?' If I had stayed at Wigan, by now I would have been there for seven or eight years and wondering if I could have been something in rugby union.

"I'm glad I've tried it and I've got no regrets in my career."

Charnley played 32 times for Sale but he found opportunities limited, with his most recent start coming against London Irish on 10 February.

He continued: "I played against London Irish and that was the best game I've played in. I got players' player and man of the match and I thought 'I've cracked it here'.

"But I've not played since because competition in the team is quite tough. We've got Denny Solomona, Marland Yarde and Byron McGuigan who are all internationals.

"It's quite tough to play week in week out, which is what I wanted to do. I didn't want to sit and wait and devalue as a player and not play."

Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond wanted Charnley to stay with the Premiership club and regain his place in their XV.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Diamond said: "It was Josh who wanted to leave in the end. We were happy for him to stay and fight for a place, but he weighed up his options.

"Warrington is a massive rugby league club and he decided that it would be his best course of action, so we backed him 100%."