Those are the words of Jason McAteer, the former Liverpool midfielder who, like Rice, was born in England but had Irish grandparents.
Rice has come through the youth teams for The Boys in Green and made his senior debut in March 2018.
The centre-half has made three senior appearances in total, but they have all come in international friendlies.
That means Rice, who can also play as a holding midfielder, is eligible to switch national allegiance.
He was omitted from the recent Republic of Ireland squad by manager Martin O’Neill, who revealed: “He is a young man. England have spoken to him. He is taking time to make his mind up.
“He has done brilliantly for us. I’m giving him a little bit of time.
“I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say Declan has loved it with us.”
McAteer himself opted to play for Ireland over England and urged Rice to choose the former.
“You’ve got to go with your heart,” he told Express Sport.
“I was very passionate about playing for Ireland – I never wanted to play for England.
“I was asked [to play for England], but as soon as I was asked I notified the FAI [Football Association of Ireland] and they came down straight away.
“Jack [Charlton] watched me play and asked me to play for Ireland, and I jumped at the chance. Although I was born in England, I was a big Ireland fan having watched them in the 1990 World Cup.
“I felt the passion to play for Ireland was bigger than it was to play for England, and I was proved right.”
McAteer turned out in the USA for the 1994 World Cup in a squad which included Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, John Aldridge, Tony Cascarino and Denis Irwin.
Jack Charlton’s team defeated eventual finalists Italy in their opening group game but were knocked out in the last-16 by the Netherlands.
Yet McAteer can see why Rice could be drawn to the England set-up.
“The only difference between me and Declan was I was entering an international squad that was probably their golden generation,” McAteer continued.
“We had a good set of youngsters going through and it was a glamour time for football in Ireland.
“It’s not quite like that [now]. If he’s coming from a football point of view, he’s going to look at England and the way they’re going.
“But is he good enough to sustain a place in the team? I’m not so sure.”
Rice, 19, faces fiercer competition in the England set-up than in Ireland’s, with Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, John Stones and Eric Dier just a fraction of the players vying for the same position as him.
“I always feel playing international football… It’s got to be a decision made with passion. It’s a complete honour to play for your country,” McAteer said.
“He’s got to think with his heart, because his head’s been turned. I’d like to see him play for Ireland, because Ireland kind of need him. They need a generation to come through.”
McAteer also revealed he disagrees with FIFA’s ruling that players aren’t tied to a country until they’ve played a competitive fixture.
“I think the rules should be changed,” the 47-year-old said.
“Once you decide you’re going to play for a country – even if it’s in a non-competitive game – then that’s it.”
Jason McAteer took on Tim Sherwood to launch 888sport’s new A Tenner Says campaign. To Take ‘Em On, visit www.888sport.com.