TIME TO BITE BACK? – Sale Sharks 25-26 preview

In what they hope will be a new era, Sale Sharks have had a big summer as they look to climb the league. And brand new head coach Tom Hudson is adamant that the first game – against his previous club, Leicester Tigers – is “a chance to get off the bottom of the table”.

And as their mantra goes, to show that “Northern Rugby Matters”.

Many of the Sale Sharks squad are new signings, most significantly Red Roses duo Holly Aitchison and new captain Amy Cokayne (above, centre), who both played crucial roles as England won the World Cup.

They link up with international teammate Morwenna Talling, who was already at the club. Rhona Lloyd heads up a quadruple of Scottish internationals joining the club, with Spanish star Carmen Castellucci (above, right) joining from the imperious Gloucester Hartpury side.

New Signings

Amy Cokayne, Holly Aitchison, Charlotte Fray, Sophie Benavant, Katie Childs, Amy Relf, Rhona Lloyd, Eva Donaldson, Evie Wills, Leah Bartlett, Courtney Keight, Carmen Castellucci, Shona Campbell, Sharifa Kasolo.

Head Coach

At the age of 30, Tom Hudson is on the younger scale of coaches in the league. Having played professionally himself, a injury forced him to retire early and he turned his focus to coaching.

Having been promoted through the system eventually to head coach at Leicester Tigers last year, Hudson led his side to 8th place last year, 14 points above his new side.

Why you should watch Sale Sharks

Who doesn’t love an underdog story? While other teams will probably win more games and score more tries, those moments of glory won’t mean as much to them. Every tackle, every penalty and every scrum will feel like a win for the Sharks, and the fans can get involved with that.

While they still are underdogs, the Sharks have undergone a total transformation this year, as shown by the frankly ridiculous ‘new signings’ list at the top of this preview. They’re not here to be the league’s battering ram any more, and that makes this season the perfect time to get behind them. Join the rebuild just as it gets started and watch the improvement every year.

Something that Hudson as a Northerner himself was very passionate about was about “promoting rugby in the North.” As the only representation in the league North of Leicester, Sale very much see themselves as a club that defines what ‘Northern rugby’ can look like. As an area that traditionally favours league over union, the women’s game is a chance to change the outlook of rugby in the North of England.

Another aspect is the style of rugby they’ll be playing. Hudson was keen to stress to us how much his side have been “working on an entertaining style of rugby” as their internationals have joined up with them ahead of the season starting. The World Cup was full of this, so why not hop down to Heywood Road this season.

Sale Sharks host Leicester Tigers at 7pm on 25th October at Morson Stadium. The match is sold out, so you’re lucky if you have a ticket! Otherwise, watch live on YouTube.