There was one sentence uttered on Sunday that best summed up the challenge Sale Sharks face. It did not come from the director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, or the man of the match George Ford, rather from the taxi driver on the way to the AJ Bell Stadium. He had not heard of it and needed the postcode to get there. “Are you sure you don’t mean the Etihad?”
Sale are fighting what can sometimes feel like a losing battle for exposure and for eyeballs against two of the biggest football teams in the world. They must coexist in rugby league territory for good measure and that they can feel ignored in the north of England in what is often a southern-centric sport only adds to the challenge.
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Judging by the sold-out show they put on for their Premiership playoff win against Leicester, thus booking a first final appearance in 17 years, fans are making a good fist of it, displaying energy and enthusiasm to match Sanderson’s side.
Sanderson is northern to the core. He had received other job offers while at Saracens but it was the chance to come home that finally persuaded him to leave. Delivering on the field is his priority but he makes no secret of the fact that reinvigorating northern rugby union is also chief among them. It is why he convinced Ford – the standout performer against Leicester and another with roots in the north‑west – to join last summer.
More than that, it can be seen in the identity of Sale’s two try-scorers against Leicester. Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed are 22 and 23 respectively, academy graduates with bright futures. Joe Carpenter, originally from Leeds, showcased the kind of form that won him a place in the Premiership team of the season. Gus Warr and Raffi Quirke are two young scrum‑halves, and Sanderson pointed to Simon McIntyre and Tommy Taylor, less heralded signings who, like Ford, chose to go back to their roots.
“Imagine the scenario where players actually played for the shirt, the badge and the area. It’s gone out of the game,” Sanderson said. “Where is the north? I remember the north playing New Zealand when I was a kid! And the north is here – and it’s in Newcastle. But, right now, we’re flying the flag. And, yeah, I’m super proud of that. I can’t talk too much about it because I start to cry and get too emotional. To come home to this team – the team I played for, captained, that my brother played for, that my dad played against – it’s a bit of a dream, isn’t it.”
Sanderson believes the playoff triumph on Sunday can be just the start. They head to Twickenham on Saturday week for their first final since 2006 but should they become regulars in the league’s showpiece event, you wonder if Premiership organisers may consider taking it on the road. A final at Old Trafford would be hugely significant in Sale’s quest to inspire future Reeds and Roebucks. Participation numbers are on the wane in the north-west and the Sharks do not just want to grow the fanbase but the player pool, too.
“One of the reasons why for us is making the people of the north proud,” Ford said. “Rugby union up here has got its challenges as we all know. All we can do as a club is perform well, try to win games, fill the place out like [Sunday] and try to entertain these people, give them a winning team that care and compete. We want to inspire the kids as well. The amount of kids you saw out there with smiles on their faces – ultimately that’s what it’s about. When we’ve finished and are long gone from the game they’re the people that will come in and take the game forward. If we can inspire kids to come and play up here, northern lads playing for Sale, that’s what we want.”
The former Wasps back Paolo Odogwu is a surprise inclusion in Italy’s World Cup training squad. The 26-year-old, who has represented England at age-grade level, was on the fringes of Eddie Jones’s side two years ago but never won a cap and has been selected for the Azzurri by the head coach Kieran Crowley.
In early 2021 Odogwu, who is of English, Italian and Nigerian descent, was arguably the Premiership’s standout performer. Able to play at centre or on the wing, he was called up by Jones for the Six Nations campaign but while he remained in camp throughout he bizarrely never featured in a matchday squad. He had previously represented England at under-18 and under-20 level, coming through the Leicester academy before moving to Sale, then Wasps.
Italy had made contact with him before his call-up by Jones but at the time Odogwu sought to pursue an international career with England. The demise of Wasps last year prompted a move to Stade Francais, however, and though he remains eligible for England as part of the exception made by the Rugby Football Union for players whose clubs went bust, he is now on course to represent Italy at the World Cup later this year. The Harlequins second row Dino Lamb, who has also represented England at under-20 level, has also been included by Italy.
Odogwu told the Mail on Sunday earlier this year: “I’d love to go to the World Cup. That would be cool. I’ll be 30 by the next World Cup [in 2027] and you never know what’s going to happen. There’s so much grey area with England, new coaches, me playing in France, and I feel they’d rather take someone from the Premiership. If England didn’t want me then I might have the opportunity to play for Italy. There’s a lot to think about because once you’ve made the decision then that’s it. If I get the opportunity this year I would love to go.”
The Rugby Football Union can help, too. In 2007 England played Argentina at Old Trafford but that was technically a home match for Los Pumas so the warmup match in Newcastle against Italy four years ago was a first home Test away from Twickenham outside the World Cup since 1997. This summer the post‑pandemic recovery means they have to squeeze every last drop out of the Twickenham cash cow but they would do well to get on the road again. After all the England head coach, Steve Borthwick, is from Cumbria, his right-hand man Kevin Sinfield from Oldham and his captain, Owen Farrell, from Wigan. The northern influence on England is obvious so it is incumbent on the RFU to give something back.
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