Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

) is an English former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

and

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

. He is the brother of

Pat Sanderson Pat Sanderson (born 6 September 1977 in Chester) is a former England international rugby union player and a former flanker for Worcester. He is the brother of the former England player Alex Sanderson. His early rugby union career blossomed ...

who also played rugby for Littleborough RUFC. He is currently Director of Rugby at

. His rugby career blossomed under coach Brian Gornall at

Kirkham Grammar School Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th century. The sc ...

. His first Sale coach, John Mitchell, also had a great influence on him as did Steve Diamond and Jim Mallinder, both of whom he played alongside when he broke into the first team. He scored a try on his

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

debut after coming on as a replacement against Romania in November 2001, having captained the

midweek side in North America soon after being selected for the England XV against the Barbarians at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. He made his Six Nations debut as a replacement against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in March 2003 and was part of the wider 43-man squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, playing in the pre-

warm-up matches against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in Marseille. He was forced to retire from rugby in 2005 due to a back injury. After a 17-year association with Saracens it was announced in January 2021 that Sanderson had been appointed Sale Sharks' Director of Rugby.

International tries

References

External links

Information for Alex SandersonScrum.com player statistics
1979 births Living people England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Kirkham Grammar School Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Chester Sale Sharks players Saracens F.C. players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub