Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club based in Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. In this article, we will discuss its history and achievements and provide an overview of its home stadium.

History of Sale Sharks

The history of Sale Rugby Club began in 1861, when it was originally founded as Sale Football Club. In 1999, the prefix ‘Sharks’ was added.

In its early years, the club rented farmland or played on cricket club grounds until it purchased its own field on Heywood Road.

From 1861 to 1990, the team played amateur rugby, gradually gaining a reputation in the north-west of Great Britain and developing talented players who represented the country on the international stage.

In the 1930s, the team sent players such as Hal Seaver (England), Claude Davey and Wilf Wooler (Wales), and Ken Five (Scotland) to the highest level.

In 1994, Sale FC moved from the second division to the top division of English rugby.

The professional era for the Sale Sharks began in 1995. At that time, the team was coached by Jim Mullindert and Philippe St. Andre, who attracted world-class talent. Players such as Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson, and Sebastian Chabal shone at the club.

The name ‘Sale Sharks’ has been used since 1999. It symbolises aggression and fast play and is associated with the maritime theme popular among British clubs.

Since 2021, the club has been managed by Alex Sanderson, ‘Sharks’ director. With his arrival, the team began to revive, regularly making it to the Premier League playoffs.

Newcastle Falcons is considered the main rival of Sale Sharks. The confrontations between these teams are called the Northern Derby.

The club is actively working on developing the Sale Sharks Women's team, but its main successes are, of course, associated with the men's team.

The team was the first among British clubs to start using modern fabric technologies and equipment design to improve the physical training of players.

The club has its own logo, which is a stylised image of a shark with its mouth open, moving forward, emphasising aggression and dynamism. The name is written next to the shark. The logo is in white and blue.

Club achievements

The achievements of Sale Rugby clearly demonstrate that it has talented players in its ranks.

The club has also won minor European tournaments, such as the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2001-02 and 2004-05.

In the 2022-23 season, Sale Sharks reached the final of the top division (Gallagher Premiership Rugby), with the final match taking place at the main stadium of English rugby, Twickenham Stadium.

Team roster

The Sale rufc team roster for the 2025-2026 season is as follows:

1. Ethan Caine - Hooker
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie - Hooker
3. Nathan Jibulu - Hooker
4. Tadgh McElroy - Hooker
5. Patreece Bell - Prop
6. James Harper - Prop
7. WillGriff John - Prop
8. Simon McIntyre - Prop
9. Tumy Onasaya - Prop
10. Asher Opoku-Fordjour - Prop
11. Bevan Rodd - Prop
12. Hyron Andrews - Lock South
13. Ben Bamber - Lock
14. Roubs Birch - Lock
15. Ernst van Rhyn - Lock
16. Ben Curry - Back Row
17. Tom Curry - Back Row
18. Huw Davies - Back Row
19. Sam Dugdale - Back Row
20. Dan du Preez - Back Row
21. Jacques Vermeulen - Back Row

Key positions in the team are filled by fairly experienced players:

1. Raffi Quirke - Scrum-half
2. Nye Thomas - Scrum-half
3. Gus Warr - Scrum-half
4. Will Wootton - Scrum-half
5. George Ford - Fly-half
6. Robert du Preez - Fly-half
7. Joe Bedlow - Centre
8. Sam Bedlow - Centre
9. Tom Curtis - Centre
10. Marius Louw - Centre
11. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White - Centre
12. Obi Ene - Wing
13. Tom O'Flaherty - Wing
14. Arron Reed - Wing
15. Tom Roebuck - Wing
16. Alex Wills - Wing
17. Joe Carpenter - Fullback
18. Luke James - Fullback

Charlie Hodgson is considered the best player at Sale rfc — he is the top scorer, having scored 1,872 points in Premiership Rugby.

The team's achievements also include Mark Cueto's record of playing 219 Premiership matches and scoring 90 tries.

For many rugby fans, Sale Sharks is associated with the name Fran Cotton, the legendary English rugby player, co-founder and chairman of the club.

Some of the club's players represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in rugby sevens: Dan Bibby and Jodie Ounsley (women's team).

Sale Sharks Stadium

Since 2012, Sale Sharks have played their matches at the Salford Community Stadium (CorpAcq Stadium) in Greater Manchester. The arena has a capacity of 12,000. In addition to rugby matches, the stadium hosts various events.

The arena is often used by the Salford Red Devils rugby team.

The stadium is located in Barton-upon-Irwell and includes visitor areas and fan zones.

Shuttles run from the neighbouring Trafford Centre shopping centre to the stadium.

Season statistics

In the 2024–2025 Premiership Rugby season, Sale Sharks finished third in the regular season but lost in the semi-final play-off match. The team qualified for the 2024–2025 European Rugby Champions Cup.

In December 2024, Sale Sharks won 38–0 against Bristol Bears. It was the first Premiership game in which Bristol failed to score since 2016.

In the playoff semi-final, Sale Sharks lost to Saracens. The match ended with a score of 35–25 after Saracens scored two late tries.

Sale Sharks have consistently qualified for the playoffs in the last three seasons. Tickets for the team's matches sell out quickly.

Sale Sharks shop

The Sale Sharks rugby club has an official shop selling rugby-related merchandise. Fans of the team can purchase equipment with the club's logo:

• shorts – €36-47;
• T-shirts – €62-77;
• socks – €21;
• long-sleeved shirts – €37-48.

In addition to training clothing, the shop sells sports accessories and merchandise (scarves, caps). Online purchases with delivery are also available.

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