There are few more stirring sights in the game than George North in full stride, head back, with the ball tucked under his outside arm as spectators rise from their seats to watch a wing as fast as he is powerful leave a scattering of defenders sprawled behind him. There were fears last season that a player who, at the age of 18, announced himself on the international stage by scoring two tries against South Africa was burning out, a victim of injuries and the relentlessly physical toll put on professional players.

North made the decision to put the length of his career before his bank balance and ended a five-year stint at Northampton to return to Wales and join Ospreys on a dual contract with the Welsh Rugby Union. His appearances will be rationed and he hopes the move will add two or three years to his career.

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“If you look at the bigger picture, without taking the love of the game out of it, it is a job,” says North. “We are very fortunate to do it but it is a very short career so you have to maximise, which is why boys will look at certain things, such as finances. The decision to come back was based on getting the best out of me. It was not for money but to be taken care of with blocks of rest, conditioning and time away from rugby. The World Cup was also a factor, knowing I had to get back to my best. That meant being in Wales.

“Every player is bigger, faster and fitter today. It gets to a point where your body just can’t take it. It will break down and the more you play, the more exposure you have. If you don’t give players the time to recover and rest, careers will get shorter and shorter. Bodies are not adapting as quickly as the game. It is a contact and momentum sport: big guys run hard and they can do it for 80 minutes. There is no respite. You have to be on the money all the time because you know what is coming.

“The advantage of being in Wales is that there is no pressure on you to get back playing quickly when you are injured. The decision is taken off you and players know they will be taken care of, not flogged, improving quality.”

In the eight years since North’s first Test, he has appeared in two World Cups and been on two Lions tours, winning a total of 79 caps. Extended breaks from the game have tended to come through injuries and when he was offered the choice last season, after signing a new deal, of returning to Wales, his head made the decision to leave a club he had spent half the decade with and clearly cares for.

“I loved my time at Northampton,” he says. “The Premiership is a top, incredibly hard league. Strong teams go toe-to-toe each week and that is what people want to watch.

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“It felt like a family there: the boys were great, as were the fans and the coaching staff, even at the end last season. My sister still lives there and I go back. I have mates for life at the club and get a warm welcome when I visit. The Saints are in transition and it will be hard for them for the next couple of years with Chris Boyd and his coaches needing time to put their plans in place, but the future looks positive.”

The season in England will be extended by three weeks in the coming seasons, although members of the England squad will play less rather than more rugby. Had North remained at Northampton, as an international from another country, he would have had a more onerous burden. “The system there works to the benefit of England players, as it should, just as the one here works for Wales players. It is early doors at Ospreys but we have an opportunity of achieving something special. I feel good but there is more to come, another level to reach.”

North will be on the wing against Scotland but he appeared in the centre against South Africa in the summer, the position the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, has long mused may be his final destination. “I have spoken to him at length about it,” says North. “It is something I will start doing more in the next couple of seasons. I am sure we will have a few more conversations about it and it is something I am excited about.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wales’ wing George North runs through to score a try during the 2018 Six Nations game against Italy. Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

“Warren is the reason I am sitting here talking now. Without him and the coaching staff, I would not be the player I have become. As a leader he is world-class, pushing to get the best out of you but also good at managing people. He builds morale, a guy you can go to if you have an issue or a family thing. You can see in his demeanour and body language that he is ready for his final months with Wales. He does not want to go quietly and that is great for us.”

North has reached middle age in rugby terms but he is 26 going on 18, his zest for the game patent. “I am not on the leadership group yet, which is probably just as well as I can be a bit immature,” he says. “My nickname at Northampton was Manchild, the size of a man and the brain of a child. When you go to work it is a serious business but away from it I still feel like a teenager bouncing around the place.

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“What we have as a group is honesty: hard work is a given and we push each other. We know where we are and where we need to be. We have a tough series coming up but if we play to the standard we know we can, it should take us far.”