Sale Sharks is a professional
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 ...
club from
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
,
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 ...
. They play in
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
, England's top division of rugby.
Originally founded in 1861 as
Sale Football Club
The Sale Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Magpies'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Sale, Victoria and are based at the Sale Oval.
The club teams compete in the Gippsland Football Netball League (GFNL).
H ...
, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999. Since 2012 they have played their home games at the
A.J. Bell Stadium in
Barton-upon-Irwell
Barton upon Irwell (also known as Barton-on-Irwell or Barton) is a suburb of the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 12,462 in 2014.
History
Barton Old Hall, a brick-built house degraded to a farmhouse, was the se ...
,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
. Between 1905 and 2003 they played at
Heywood Road
Heywood Road is a rugby stadium in Sale, Greater Manchester, England, which has been the home ground of rugby union side Sale F.C. since 1905. It was the home ground of spin-off professional club Sale Sharks until they moved to Edgeley Park, St ...
in
Sale, before moving to
Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for rugby league club Stockport RFC in 1891, by 1903, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in.
Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium hold ...
in
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
where they stayed until 2012. Their traditional colours are blue and white.
Sale have won four major trophies. They were
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
Champions in
2005–06, won the
European Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...
in
2001–02,
2004–05 and the
Premiership Rugby Cup
The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions.
History
The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...
in
2019/20. They also won the
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...
in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
.
In the
2021–22 Premiership Rugby
The 2021–22 Premiership Rugby is the 35th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition and the fourth to be sponsored by Gallagher. It is also the first since 1992–93 to feature thirteen teams. The competition will be ...
season Sale finished sixth, which entitled them to compete in the
2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup
The 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup is the ninth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for teams from the top five nations in European rugby and ...
. The Director of Rugby is
Alex Sanderson
Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in Chester) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for Saracens and Sale Sharks. He is the brother of Pat Sanderson who also played rugby fo ...
who was appointed in January 2021 following the departure of
Steve Diamond
Steve Diamond (born 7 July 1953) is an English-born former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played club level rugby union for Newport RFC, as a fly-half, and rugby league for Wales, and ...
in December 2020.
History
1861–1990s
The club was founded in 1861 and is one of the oldest clubs in English rugby. Throughout their history they have been one of the leading rugby union clubs in the North of England. Sale moved into
Heywood Road
Heywood Road is a rugby stadium in Sale, Greater Manchester, England, which has been the home ground of rugby union side Sale F.C. since 1905. It was the home ground of spin-off professional club Sale Sharks until they moved to Edgeley Park, St ...
in 1905 and would remain there until 2003.
Sale were unbeaten in 26 matches, winning 24 and drawing two in 1911.
Although
Pat Davies is counted as Sale's first international, having been picked to play for England in 1927, it was
G.A.M. Isherwood who was Sale's first representative in an international Test match, when he played in all three tests of the 1910
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
tour to South Africa at
scrum-half. The club has consistently provided international players and, during the 1930s, had one of its most dominant periods, fielding players of the calibre of
Hal Sever (England),
Claude Davey
Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...
and
Wilf Wooller
Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh cricketer, rugby union footballer, cricket administrator and journalist.
He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained G ...
(Wales) and
Ken Fyfe (Scotland). It came as little surprise when they took out the 1936 Middlesex Sevens.
Sale ruled the roost in county cup rugby for 15 straight seasons as they went unbeaten from 1972 to 1987 in every one of those cup fixtures. During this period, Sale competed for the chance to be English club champions. In their first year, one after the inaugural competition kicked off in 1971, they made the semi-finals only to lose to eventual winners Coventry 35–6.
Professional era
During the nineties, despite thrilling displays under
Paul Turner, and his successor
John Mitchell, both club and ground struggled to keep a grip on the demanding commercial and financial realities of running a professional rugby club.
Sale took 20,000 fans to
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 ...
for the 1997
Pilkington Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
Final but Leicester won a mistake-ridden match 9–3. This interest quickly faded and the anticipated increased crowds never materialised and relegation from the
Premier Division loomed until rugby union-playing local businessman
Brian Kennedy came to the rescue late in the 1999–2000 season. Since then, the club has been on a sound financial footing.
Off the field,
Peter Deakin was recruited from
Warrington Wolves
The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004.
Founded as Warrington Z ...
rugby league as chief executive to employ the skills he had used with the
Bradford Bulls
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...
and Saracens and he made an immediate impact in raising the club's profile until hit by the serious illness which claimed his life in February 2003.
Success was not immediate; Sale Sharks finished eleventh and tenth in the 12-strong
Premiership table in the first two years of the new Millennium. It took the coaching partnership of two former Sale players,
Jim Mallinder
David James Mallinder is a rugby union coach and former player currently working with Scottish Rugby as performance director. He is a former head coach of Sale Sharks, England Under 21s, England Saxons and Northampton Saints.
Playing career
I ...
and
Steve Diamond
Steve Diamond (born 7 July 1953) is an English-born former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played club level rugby union for Newport RFC, as a fly-half, and rugby league for Wales, and ...
, to produce a team that were 2002 runners-up and qualified for the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
.
Player signings matched the elevated profile of the club.
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
skipper
Bryan Redpath
Bryan William Redpath (born 2 July 1971 in Galashiels) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and former rugby union coach. He is currently the Director of Rugby at London Scottish.
Early life and family
Redpath attended Kel ...
was joined by
Stuart Pinkerton,
Barry Stewart,
Graeme Bond
Graeme Bond (born 27 November 1949) is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL for both the Richmond Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club.
Family
The son of Ray Salmond Bond (1918-2010), and Lily Pauline Bo ...
,
Jason White and
Andrew Sheridan
Andrew John Sheridan (born 1 November 1979 in Petts Wood, Bromley, England) is a retired English rugby union player who played as a loosehead prop.
Sheridan is tall, which is unusually tall for a prop, and weighs . He is known for his great ...
. The club then turned to the wealth of talent, hitherto largely untapped, in Rugby League.
Apollo Perelini
Apollo Perelini (born 16 July 1969) is a former dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, and has coached in the 2000s and 2010s.
He played representative rugby union (RU) for New Zeal ...
, known as "The Terminator" for his uncompromising style, joined Sale Sharks the day after helping
St. Helens to victory in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
Grand Final at Old Trafford and the media had a field day when
Jason Robinson, possibly the most exciting wing in the world in either code, moved to Sale from
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...
.
In 2002 the team also went on to capture the
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
at Oxford's
Kassam Stadium
The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam.
The Kassam Stadium currently hosts League One (third t ...
, defeating
Pontypridd
() (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Geography
comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...
25–22.
The latter Mallinder days saw the club at Twickenham again in 2004, losing narrowly to the Falcons in the Powergen Cup Final. In the summer of 2004
Jim Mallinder
David James Mallinder is a rugby union coach and former player currently working with Scottish Rugby as performance director. He is a former head coach of Sale Sharks, England Under 21s, England Saxons and Northampton Saints.
Playing career
I ...
left Sale to take up a position in the RFU's National Academy. Following Mallinder's departure Sale appointed former French international
Philippe Saint-André
Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but h ...
who had recently been turned down for the vacant position as coach of Wales. However, with a new influx of players including French internationals
Sébastien Bruno
Sébastien Bruno (born 26 August 1974 in Nîmes, France) is a French rugby union footballer who plays as a hooker for Toulon and formerly for France. Born in Nîmes, Bruno joined Sale Sharks from French club Béziers, making his debut against Lei ...
and
Sébastien Chabal
Sébastien Chabal (born 8 December 1977) is a French former rugby union player. He played number eight and lock for Bourgoin (1998–2004), Sale Sharks (2004–2009), Racing Métro 92 Paris (2009 – February 2012), and for the French national ...
helped Saint-André and Sale win the 2005 European Challenge Cup again at Oxford, this time 27–3 against
Pau, for the second time in three years.
2005–06 season: Champions
New additions to the squad for the 2005–06 season included French prop
Lionel Faure
Lionel Faure (born 26 November 1977 in France) is a rugby union player for Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14. Faure plays as a Loosehead prop, and previously played for the Sale Sharks and won the 2005–06 Guinness Premiership with them, starting ...
, Samoan back
Elvis Seveali'i
Elvis Lulai Seveali'i (born 20 June 1978 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a retired Samoan rugby union footballer. He played centre and wing and represented Manu Samoa internationally.
He has represented Wellington in the under-19s and under-21s ...
and Welsh number eight
Nathan Bonner-Evans
Nathan Bonner-Evans is a Wales national rugby union team, Wales A international rugby union player. A number 8 forward, he has played for Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and for Sale Sharks. In December 2008 he signed for London Welsh RFC. In the ...
. Building on their European Challenge Cup success, Sale won 16 games out of 22 to finish two games clear at the top of the table. In the semi-final against
London Wasps
Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...
, they won 22–12. They won the 2006 Premiership title with a 45–20 win against Leicester Tigers.
2006–2009
After the success of the 2005–06 season many at the club had hoped for a repeat. However an injury crisis struck. More and more injuries were picked up over the following months until Sale were left with only 17 of a 38-man squad fit to play in their final Heineken Cup match against
Ospreys
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
.
[Source: Sale Sharks website]
In 2007–08, it was World Cup year so the club was without some of their big names. Sale appointed James Jennings as the new chief executive and
Dean Schofield
Dean Schofield (born 19 January 1979 in Clayton, Manchester, England) is a former professional Rugby union player who played for London Welsh, among other clubs. He plays lock and is a product of Aldwinians RUFC. He first came to prominence wh ...
as the new captain. Sale had signed good players including
Luke McAlister
Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in Waitara) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at fly-half and at centre. He is the brother of New Zealand women's sevens player Kayla McAlister and son of rugby league footballer Char ...
from the Blues in New Zealand. The season was up and down. Successes included; beating
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
home and away for the first time. However, the low points were not qualifying for the semi-finals in the
Premiership or win a trophy.
On 19 August 2008,
Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe
Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe (born 19 November 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Toulon in the French Top 14, having moved from Sale Sharks in England's Guinness Premiership. He previously play ...
was announced as the captain for the new season, replacing
Jason White who was still recovering from an injury.
A new Premiership record of four games without leaking a try was set at the start of the season, these games were Newcastle (A), Saracens (H), Bristol (A) and Gloucester (H).
Sale was knocked out of the European Cup in the group stages. Despite earning a win over Clermont, a defeat at home to Munster, a defeat to Montauban and Munster beating The Sharks in Ireland led to an exit.
Charlie Hodgson was voted the player of the year at the club's end-of-season awards on Thursday 30 April 2009.
Philippe Saint-André stepped down from his position as Director of Rugby at the end of the 2008–09 season. Along with the departure of Saint-André, a number of key players announced that their time at Sale was up. Captain
Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe
Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe (born 19 November 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Toulon in the French Top 14, having moved from Sale Sharks in England's Guinness Premiership. He previously play ...
and cult figure
Sébastien Chabal
Sébastien Chabal (born 8 December 1977) is a French former rugby union player. He played number eight and lock for Bourgoin (1998–2004), Sale Sharks (2004–2009), Racing Métro 92 Paris (2009 – February 2012), and for the French national ...
all bade farewell to the club at the end of the season.
2009–2013: Near relegation
![USO-Sale Sharks - 20131205 - Ballon flottant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/USO-Sale_Sharks_-_20131205_-_Ballon_flottant.jpg)
For the 2009–10 season,
Kingsley Jones was promoted from Head Coach to Director of Rugby; former Sale winger
Jason Robinson became head coach. Sale had a disappointing 2009–10 season, finishing 11th in the
Premiership and only securing safety from relegation on the penultimate weekend of the season. Sale's
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
campaign also ended in disappointment. The highlights of the campaign were a 27–26 win at home to Cardiff and wins home and away against
Harlequins.
There were changes made in the coaching staff. Keith-Roach stepped down from his duties after deciding he could not commit to a full-time role.
Robinson, who originally had no intentions to coach but responded to the club's request for help,
left the club.
Former All Black forward
Mike Brewer
Mike Brewer (born 28 August 1964) is an English car trader turned presenter of Driving, motoring television programmes. He currently presents ''Wheeler Dealers'' on the Discovery Channel (UK and Ireland), Discovery Channel with Marc "Elvis" Pri ...
replaced Robinson as head coach, while Jones remained as Director of Rugby.
In December 2010, after only eight months in the role, Brewer was sacked as head coach. Academy coach
Pete Anglesea
Anthony Peter Anglesea (born 30 October 1971 in Blackrod, Lancashire, England) was a rugby union rugby player, who played back row for the Sale Sharks. Highly regarded by Sale when forced to retire through injury in 2006, he first took a role wit ...
took over as first team coach on a temporary basis until the end of the season, leading Sale to a 10th-placed finish.
In the 2011–12 pre-season, former player Steve Diamond was announced as chairman. Immediately, an overhaul of the playing and coaching staff began, dubbed "Diamond's Revolution".
Sale started the season well, but form faltered towards the latter half of the campaign, and Tony Hanks was fired as head coach after a defeat to Saracens.
At the close of the season, Sale beat Gloucester and Bath to sixth place in the Premiership, meaning that they qualified for Heineken Cup in the 2012–13 season.
During the summer of 2012, Sale moved from
Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for rugby league club Stockport RFC in 1891, by 1903, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in.
Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium hold ...
, their home since 2003, to the newly constructed
Salford City Stadium
Salford City Stadium (referred to as the AJ Bell Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, England, built to replace Salford rugby league club's ground the Willows for the 2012 season. Sale Sharks rugby unio ...
(now renamed AJ Bell Stadium), to share with the
Salford City Reds
The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...
.
Sale had a disappointing 2012–13 season at their new stadium, spending most of the season in the relegation place before finishing 10th overall.
Mark Cueto
Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership.
O ...
over took former Sale teammate
Steve Hanley, as top try scorer in the premiership, with his 76th try.
Their first win of the season was against
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...
in the Heineken Cup, which was their only win in that year's Heineken Cup, where they finished bottom of their pool.
In the
LV Cup in the knock-out stages, they beat
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 ...
in the semi-final, but lost in the final to
Harlequins 14–31.
2013–2015
This season showed a huge improvement from the season before. Sale finished the season in sixth place, missing out on a place on the play-off competition, but managed to secure qualification to the inaugural
European Rugby Champions Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
. They also managed to reach the quarter finals of the
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
, where they lost to
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
.
Sale's successes in the season prompted England national team head coach
Stuart Lancaster to call up six Sale players in to the squad to play in the summer tour.
For the 2014–15 season, the Sharks finished in seventh in the Aviva Premiership, while they finished bottom of their pool in the European Rugby Champions Cup, having pushed Munster, Saracens & Clermont Auvergne all the way at the AJ Bell Stadium. The standout players for this campaign were academy prospects
Mike Haley and
Josh Beaumont
Josh Beaumont (born 24 March 1992) is a rugby union player for the Sale Sharks in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a number 8, or a lock. His debut season in the Sale Sharks jersey was uneventful as well as his second season. During his thir ...
who became first team regulars, and Josh was called up for the England squad for the England XV which played the Barbarians in May, and scored a try.
2020–present
In the 2020–21 season, the Sharks finished 3rd in the Gallagher Premiership with a points total of 74. A semi-final tie away at
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...
resulted in a 40 – 30 loss.
In the Heineken Champions Cup after finishing Pool A 8th with one point, Sale went on to beat Scarlets away 57 – 14 in the round of 16 setting up a last-eight away tie at
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
resulting in a 45 – 21 defeat.
That season saw academy prospects
Sam Dugdale,
Bevan Rodd,
Arron Reed and
Raffi Quirke
Raffi Quirke (born 18 August 2001) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Sale Sharks in the Premiership.
Early life
Raffi Quirke was born on 18 August 2001 in Chorlton. He started playing rugby when he w ...
all become first-team regulars.
In December 2020, The former Director of Rugby
Steve Diamond
Steve Diamond (born 7 July 1953) is an English-born former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played club level rugby union for Newport RFC, as a fly-half, and rugby league for Wales, and ...
left the club due to family matters. He left three matches into the 2020–21 Premiership season with the team having won two of those games. Commenting on his time with Sale, Diamond said: “I built with Simon (Orange) and Ged (Mason) a fantastic management team, a great club, really solid foundations and I thought if there was a time for me to step aside and let the other people come through that was the best time."
In January 2021, Sale confirmed that Saracens forward coach
Alex Sanderson
Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in Chester) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for Saracens and Sale Sharks. He is the brother of Pat Sanderson who also played rugby fo ...
took over the role of Director of Rugby at the club.
The 41-year-old started his senior playing career at Sale Sharks in 1998, after playing junior rugby at local club Littleborough. He went on to make 90 appearances for the club, with his leadership qualities earning him the club captaincy. Alex was quoted saying "I'm joining a club I know all about from my time here, but things have moved on massively since those days and the opportunity to come back home and achieve something special was just too good to turn down,".
Sale struggled in the first half of the 2021/22 season, which was Sanderson's first full season in charge. Results picked up in the new year but Sale narrowly missed out on the top 4 by 5 points, having to settle for a 6th place finish. For the second season in a row they were defeated by French opposition in the
Champions Cup quarter final losing 41-22 to
Racing Metro
Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name t ...
despite leading 10-6 at halftime. The season ended with farewells to the iconic
Faf De Klerk
Francois "Faf" de Klerk (born 19 October 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Japan Rugby League One club Yokohama Canon Eagles and the South Africa national team. He was a member of the South Afri ...
, fellow South Africans
Lood de Jager
Lodewyk de Jager (born 17 December 1992) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team and in the English Premiership. He usually plays as a lock.
Career
De Jager played at youth level for the and als ...
and
Rohan Janse Van Rensburg
Rohan Janse van Rensburg (born 11 September 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player for South African United Rugby Championship side the Sharks. His regular position is inside centre.
Career Youth
Janse van Rensburg represented ...
and several other influential players including
AJ Macginty
Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears.
Early life
A gra ...
,
Cameron Neild and
Curtis Langdon
Curtis John Langdon (born 3 August 1997) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at hooker. He recently played for Worcester Warriors in Premiership Rugby but his contract was terminated along with every other Warriors player o ...
.
Ahead of the 2022/23 season the signings of
Tom O'Flaherty and England internationals
George Ford and
Jonny Hill were announced. All three had won the
Premiership with their respective former clubs. The season started with five league wins in a row.
Kits
Current kit
The kit is supplied by
Macron, the Italian technical sportswear firm will produce match day and training kit, leisurewear and accessories for the men's, women's and academy sides for the next six years. Macron will also become the clubs official retail partner.
Featuring the traditional stripes that proved such a fans’ favourite in years gone by, the new home shirt is a modern take on the kit worn by the Sharks when they lifted the Premiership trophy 15 years ago.
The club's famous navy blue is teamed with Macron's royal blue and white to create a contemporary design laden with northern charm and Shark pride.
The away kit sees a return to the predominantly white colourway, but this time with a stylish grey and black camo twist on the chest section and shorts.
The 2021/22 kits celebrate the team, the community and the family that makes Sale Sharks unstoppable.
That sense of community is celebrated with the ‘Fabric of the North’ kit release campaign, which features some of the Sharks Family wearing the kit at iconic north west locations.
Season summaries
Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated
Club honours
Sale Sharks
*
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
**Champions (1):
2005–06
**''Runners-up (1):
2001–02''
*
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...
**Champions (1):
1993–94
*
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
**Champions (2):
2001–02,
2004–05
*
Premiership Rugby Cup
The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions.
History
The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...
**Champions (1):
2019–20
*
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
**''Runners-up (3):
1996–97,
2003–04,
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
''
*
Cheshire RFU Cup
The Cheshire Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Cheshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced in the 1877–78 season as the Cheshire Challenge County Cup and the inaugural competition was won by Bir ...
(tiers 4–5)
**Champions (17): 1969–70, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1996–97
**''Runners-up (1): 1991–92''
Sale Jets Reserves
*
Premiership Rugby Shield
The Premiership Rugby Shield was launched in 2003 as the Premiership Rugby A League. It runs parallel to the Premiership Rugby seasons. Split into north and south pools, it comprises twelve sides. The clubs select players from their academy and ...
**''Runners-up (1): 2010–11''
*
Cheshire RFU Cup
The Cheshire Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Cheshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced in the 1877–78 season as the Cheshire Challenge County Cup and the inaugural competition was won by Bir ...
**Champions (2): 2009–10, 2010–11 (shared)
Sevens
*
Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...
**Champions (1): 1936
*
Glengarth Sevens Main Event
**Champions (1): 1977
*
Glengarth Sevens Davenport Plate
**Champions (2): 1968, 1985
*
Melrose Sevens
Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...
**Champions (1): 2003
*
Glasgow City Sevens
Glasgow City Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held by Cartha Queens Park, in Dumbreck in the south side of Glasgow. The tournament was previously known as the Cartha Sevens and the Cartha Queens Park Sevens.
History
The first rugb ...
**Champions (2): 2007, 2009
Current squad
The Sale Sharks squad for the
2022–23 season is:
Notable former players
Lions Tourists
The following Sale players have been selected for the
Lions tours while at the club:
*
G.A.M. Isherwood (
1910 Tour to South Africa)
*
William Michael Patterson (
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
)
*
Peter Stagg (
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
)
*
Fran Cotton
Francis Edward Cotton (born 3 January 1947) is a former rugby union prop forward who played for England and the British Lions. His clubs included Coventry R.F.C. and Sale. After retiring, he remained in rugby administration and founded a clo ...
(
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
&
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
)
*
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
(
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
&
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
)
*
Jason Robinson (
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
&
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Andy Titterrell
Andrew James Titterrell (born 10 January 1981 in Dartford, England) is a former rugby union player who played at hooker and previously for England.
Titterrell was educated at the Hugh Christie Technology College in Tonbridge and Sevenoaks Sch ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Andrew Sheridan
Andrew John Sheridan (born 1 November 1979 in Petts Wood, Bromley, England) is a retired English rugby union player who played as a loosehead prop.
Sheridan is tall, which is unusually tall for a prop, and weighs . He is known for his great ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Charlie Hodgson
Charles Christopher Hodgson (born 12 November 1980) is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time.
...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Mark Cueto
Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership.
O ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Jason White (
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
)
*
Andrew Sheridan
Andrew John Sheridan (born 1 November 1979 in Petts Wood, Bromley, England) is a retired English rugby union player who played as a loosehead prop.
Sheridan is tall, which is unusually tall for a prop, and weighs . He is known for his great ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
&
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
)
*
Tom Curry (
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
)
Rugby World Cup
The following are players which have represented their countries at the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
whilst playing for Sale Sharks:
Sponsorship
Sale Sharks signed a three-year deal with Manchester business
UKFast
UKFast.Net Limited (trading as UKFast) is a business-to-business internet hosting company based in Manchester, UK. It is principally known for managed hosting, cloud services, and co-location. The business owns and operates its data centre comple ...
in 1999, the value of the deal being in excess of £2 million, at the same time they changed their name from Sale to Sale Sharks.
Lawrence Jones Managing Director of
UKFast
UKFast.Net Limited (trading as UKFast) is a business-to-business internet hosting company based in Manchester, UK. It is principally known for managed hosting, cloud services, and co-location. The business owns and operates its data centre comple ...
is a keen supporter of the club.
In 2003, Global computer security software company
McAfee
McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...
were announced as a sponsor, originally the firm's logo was seen on Sale shirt collars a first in terms of sports sponsorship for the company. In April 2006 the company announced a three-year, seven-figure extension to its existing main club sponsorship at a time when Sale was leading the premiership with McAfee principal front of shirt sponsor.
UKFast
UKFast.Net Limited (trading as UKFast) is a business-to-business internet hosting company based in Manchester, UK. It is principally known for managed hosting, cloud services, and co-location. The business owns and operates its data centre comple ...
, announced a new sponsorship deal in March 2009 which ended McAfee's four-year association with the club.
UKFast has been associated with the Sharks since 1999 but for the first time had the job of being the principal sponsor.
CEO
Lawrence Jones decided to end the deal with Sale in April 2011, explaining that the decision was taken partly for business reasons, but also due to changes at the club – including Charlie Hodgson's departure at the end of the 2010–11 season.
In July 2011, the club announced that credit card lender
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006.
History
The former Maryland National ...
would become the club's Principal Partner for the next three seasons, and that the partnership would see the MBNA logo on the front of all three of Sales Sharks' home, away and European shirts.
A two-year partnership extension was agreed in September 2013 lasting until the end of the 2015/16 season.
After a five-year break UKFast became club sponsors again in July 2016, at the time this was the largest sponsorship deal in the history of the club.
CEO Lawrence Jones commented: “This partnership is more than a logo on a shirt. UKFast has been associated with Sale Sharks for more than a decade. It's a club that is incredibly close to my heart and I can't wait to contribute to its success.
In October 2020, Manchester-based cyber technology company
VST Enterprises announced it has launched what it claims is the world's first interactive sports kit for the club.
The men's team wore a ‘maze’ style logo – called a VCode, positioned between the name branding on the front of their shirts for the 2020/21 season.
The Vcode, similar to a QR code, could be scanned by fans via smartphone, allowing access to exclusive content.
On the 1st September 2021 Sale Sharks has signed up to a new long-term partnership with online electricals store,
AO,
which will see the Bolton-based retailer take over as the club's principal front of shirt sponsor.
AO will also work closely with the Sharks Community Trust, the club's charitable arm, to create and launch ‘Are you AO-K?’, a life-changing mental health programme in schools across the North West.
The South Stand at Sharks’ AJ Bell Stadium will also be renamed and branded as the AO Stand, as part of the multi-year deal.
Sharks CEO Sid Sutton said: “Everyone at the club is so excited to welcome AO to the Sharks family. I have no doubt that this is a partnership that's going to drive the club onto the next level both on and off the pitch.
Records
Team records
* Record Win: 76 – 0 ''vs
Bristol Shoguns
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
(Allied Dunbar Premiership, 1997-98)''
* Record Loss: 58 – 5 ''vs
London Wasps
Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...
(Allied Dunbar Premiership, 1999-2000)''
* Best League Position: ''1st (Guinness Premiership, 2005-06)''
* Worst League Position: 9''th (Courage League National Division Two, 1989–90)''
Player records
* Most Premiership Appearances:
Mark Cueto
Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership.
O ...
– 219
* Top Premiership Try Scorer:
Mark Cueto
Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership.
O ...
– 90
* Top Premiership Points Scorer:
Charlie Hodgson
Charles Christopher Hodgson (born 12 November 1980) is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time.
...
– 1,872
Notes
References
External links
*
BBC Sport Sale Sharks PagePremiership Rugby Official Website
{{Sale Sharks squad
Premiership Rugby teams
English rugby union teams
Rugby clubs established in 1861
Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Clubs and societies in Greater Manchester
1861 establishments in England