Sale Sharks

Last season's finish: 3rd

Director of rugby: Alex Sanderson

Captain: Ernst Van Rhyn

Star player: George Ford

Young player to watch: Tom Burrow

For the past 3 seasons, the Sale Sharks have qualified for the playoffs. In 2022/23 they finished 2nd and made the final. That performance was followed by 2 3rd place finishes which resulted in semi-final defeats. Given that record, it is no wonder that Alex Sanderson has opted to maintain a consistent team. George Ford is still at the helm on the pitch and will be joined at the club by his brother, Joe, who is going to be the attack coach at Sale this season. Sale have a wealth of experience and star quality but the team will now be reliant on the continued development of some great youngsters.

Asher Opoku-Fordjour has recently become an England international over the past year and is already a star on the team. He will now be joined in the front row by Nathan Jibulu. The young hooker joined the club from Sale in the summer and will develop well behind Luke Cowan-Dickie. Another young play to watch is Tye Ramont. The 20-year-old has shown promise in limited appearances last season and could become a factor behin Willgriff John and Asher Opoku-Forjour as the season progresses.

The front row is an obvious strength for Sale. A starting front row of Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-DIckie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour can rival any in the league. The second row, however, might be a different story. The Sharks have just had Le Roux Roets leave by mutual consent, and that comes after Jonny Hill left earlier in the summer. There haven't been any additions in their place which means that Sale could be left exposed at the position. Ernst Van Rhyn has been named captain which is presumably based on the assumption that Ben Curry will be spending more time away with England after being included in the new EPS squad. Van Rhyn will be joined in the 2nd row by Ben Bamber. Bamber has had an incredible journey which has included converting from rugby league, as well as suffering injuries that led him to take time away from the sport in order to work in a factory instead. He has since worked hard and made himself a Sale regular which then led to him earning an England A cap. Hyron Andrews will probably be the 3rd choice lock, but the important questions will surround Tom Burrow. The 20-year-old has been a key player for each of England's age group teams and has also appeared for Sale in the Prem Cup last season. He also earned a call-up to the England A squad last autumn. Burrow is a promising player but the lack of depth in the Sharks squad means that his development just became a whole lot more important. It also speaks to faith that Sale's coaching staff have in the youngster.

Sale's real strength is the back row. The Curry brothers are obviously spectacular rugby players and they are joined by Dan du Preez and Sam Dugdale. Both of those players are great club players who would be valuable to any team in the country. That group now has Jacques Vermeulen to add to its ranks. He is a replacement for Jean-Luc du Preez. This is the engine room for Sale and will provide the platform for the side to succeed.

The back line is also fairly consistent. Raffi Quirke and Gus Warr will continue to compete for the 9 shirt whilst offering Alex Sanderson 2 very different styles of player from which to choose. The fly half situation is far more settled. George Ford is the obvious first-choice, and is instrumental to the team. When he is away with England, Rob du Preez will move from outside centre to fly half. Fans should also keep an eye out for Tom Curtis - a highly rated young player who could get more opportunities this season. Tom Roebuck. Arron Reed, Joe Carpenter and Tom O'Flaherty remain a top back three group that will always make Sale dangerous. The midfield is a slightly different equation. As I mentioned, Rob du Preez will start in the midfield when everyone is fit. Things could get more complex when George Ford is away.At inside centre, Reketi Ma'asi-White has stepped up to replace Manu Tuilagi but will now face more competiiton from the addition of Marius Louw. Sale look likely to be there at the end of the season once again, but will have to rely on some promising youngsters stepping up at key points.

Notable ins

Marius Louw - Nathan Jibulu - Jaques Vermeulen

Notable outs

 Le Roux Roets - Jean-Luc du Preez - Jonny Hill

Squad

Hooker

Willis Austin - Ethan Caine - Luke Cowan-Dickie - Nathan Jibulu - Alfie Longstaff - Tadhg McElroy

Prop

Patreece Bell - WillGriff John - James Harper - Jack Lightbrown - Ralph McEachren - Simon McIntyre - Tumy Onasanya - Asher Opoku-Fordjour - Tye Ramont - Bevan Rodd - Oliver Spencer

Lock

Hyron Andrews - Ben Bamber - Tom Burrow - Dylan Hodkinson - Patrick Hogg - Ewan Murphy - Ernst van Rhyn

Back row

Rouban Birch - Will Bennett - Frank Chatterton - Ben Curry - Tom Curry - Huw Davies - Sam Dugdale - Jos Gilmore - Seb Kelly - Reuben Logan - Dan du Preez - Will Riley - Tristan Woodman - Jaques Vermeulen

Scrum half

Dom Hanson - Raffi Quirke - Nye Thomas - Gus Warr - Will Wooton

Fly half

Tom Curtis - Ollie Davies - Robert du Preez - George Ford

Centre

Joe Bedlow - Sam Bedlow - Luke James - Marius Louw - Reketi Ma'asi-White - Ben Motamed - Aaron Pope - Osain Roberts - Toby Wilson

Wing

Obi Ene - Tom O'Flaherty - Arron Reed - Tom Roebuck - Alex Wills

Fullback

Joe Carpenter

Possible XV and bench

1.Bevan Rodd 2.Luke Cowan-Dickie 3.Asher Opoku-Fordjour 4.Ben Bamber 5.Ernst van Rhyn

6.Tom Curry 7.Ben Curry 8. Dan du Preez 9.Raffi Quirke 10.George Ford

11.Arron Reed 12.Reketi Ma'asi-White 13.Robert du Preez 14.Tom Roebuck 15.Joe Carpenter

Bench

16.Nathan Jibulu 17.Simon McIntyre 18.Willgriff John 19.Hyron Andrews 

20.Sam Dugdale 21.Jaques Vermeulen 22.Gus Warr 23.Tom O'Flaherty