The 23-year-old second-row made his Sharks debut against Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup (2015), after making his way through the Academy. He has since gone on to make a total of 36 senior appearances for the Sharks, featuring in all competitions for Sale, ranging from the Premiership Rugby Shield to the Heineken Champions Cup.

His breakthrough season for Sale came in the 2016/17 season off the back of a hugely successful U20 World Championship in Manchester. George started all five games for England during the tournament including their victory over Ireland in the final.

Away from the field George made a great impact over the years, regularly getting involved with the Sale Sharks Community Trust and their disabled rugby programmes, volunteering in his own time to help deliver the sessions and increase awareness of Rugby Union within the North West.

Director of Rugby Steve Diamond, believes this is a great opportunity for George, commenting on the news he said: “George has been a fantastic asset to the club since joining the academy. We were approached by London Irish who were interested in George to strengthen their forward options ahead of the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership Season, and Notty seemed like a good fit for them. George has huge potential at the highest level, however with the International pedigree we have coming into our pack, I feel he may not get the game time he needs in order to develop further and I would not want to hinder the progress of any player within the squad.”

The Club would like to wish George all the best at London Irish and look forward to crossing paths again in the near future!