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15 for 10: Sale Sharks - an all-decade XV

By Alex Shaw
(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

The RugbyPass 15 for 10 series continues with a look at the all-decade XV for Sale Sharks. This north-west England club has struggled to replicate the highs of the 2000s in this decade with their highest finish in the Gallagher Premiership being sixth, as Steve Diamond’s side have settled into consistent mid- and low-table finishes.

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Player exoduses to the south have blighted Sharks’ decade, although they have had their fair share of players who have stuck around and attempted to push the club back into the upper echelons of the table. Check out our pick of their standouts below.

  1. Mike Haley

A two-horse race between Haley and Rob Miller, it was a contest that could have gone either way with both having added plenty to Sale during their time at the club. An extra season of service and the counter-attacking ability of Haley swung it for us, with the former Sale man now playing his rugby at Munster. He has since become a capped international with Ireland.

  1. Denny Solomona

Although not Eddie Jones’ cup of tea with England, Solomona has been one of the most consistent and important players for Sale over last three-and-a-half years. He has bagged 41 tries at a rate over a try every two games and when Sale opt to push the tempo and try to stretch teams, Solomona is one of the most deadly threats in the Premiership.

  1. Sam James

It’s tough to leave out Johnny Leota and Will Addison, both of whom made over 100 appearances apiece for the club, but the same level of activity also applies to versatile centre James. All have added their own unique stamp on the Sale backline, though it is perhaps James who has proven to be the most influential of the trio.

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  1. Sam Tuitupou

An honourable mention for James O’Connor, but Tuitupou was a steadfast force at inside centre for Sale for six years. The former All Black made over 100 appearances for Sharks during that time and provided a physical presence at second receiver that kept Sale moving forward.

  1. Mark Cueto

Over 300 appearances and almost 120 tries for the club, Cueto is the definition of a Sale legend. Five years of that time at Sharks came during the 2010s and although his career was beginning to wind down, he was still a clinical finisher on the outside and a devoted servant to the club he spent his entire career at.

  1. Danny Cipriani

In addition to the last season of Charlie Hodgson’s time at the club, Sale have also been able to call upon AJ MacGinty over the past decade, although the obvious call here is Cipriani. The Englishman resurrected his career in the north-west after a spell in Australia and a controversy-ridden first half of his career. Cipriani’s excellence for Sale earned him a move back to Wasps and a flirtation with the England 10 jersey.

  1. Faf de Klerk

Honourable mentions for Will Cliff and Dwayne Peel, though few would argue with the impact that de Klerk has had on Sale since his arrival from the Lions. The flowing blonde locks of de Klerk are frequently at the heart of Sale’s best attacking moments and his opportunism around the fringes and in defence create space for Sharks in a way few other players can match.

  1. Andrew Sheridan

Ross Harrison has Sheridan’s number here in terms of durability and length of service in this decade, though Sheridan was a force of nature. The Dulwich College product was one of the most destructive front row forwards in the world under the former engagement sequence at the scrum, where his power and strength was too much for many tightheads to deal with.

  1. Tommy Taylor

Hooker Taylor has been one of a number of players to make the move from Sale to Wasps after impressing in the north-west. Taylor looked for all money like an England international in the waiting during his time at Sale, although injuries and inconsistencies have since seen him surpassed by the likes of Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie.

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  1. Henry Thomas

Vadim Cobilas was impressive for the club while Brian Mujati also had a noteworthy spell at the AJ Bell Stadium, but it was Thomas – one of the club’s own academy products – who perhaps stood out most keenly. He ultimately swapped life in Manchester for Bath where, like Taylor, he has struggled with injuries, something which has derailed what looked like a blossoming international career.

  1. James Gaskell

Another Sale product to eventually move to Wasps, Gaskell was the youngest captain in the club’s history being given the responsibility at just 20 years of age. There were times at Sale when he looked as though he was on the verge of an England call-up thanks to his mobility and lineout ability, although Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury were initially preferred.

  1. Bryn Evans

Andrei Ostrikov is due an honourable mention for the longevity of his service at the club, while the decade also saw the end of Chris Jones’ time in the north-west and short stints for Richie Gray and Nathan Hines. Evans, however, gets the nod here as the former All Black was a consistent performer for the club at the set-piece and provided a platform for the team to launch attacks from.

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  1. Tom Curry

Despite still being just 21 years of age, the England flanker wraps up this spot as Magnus Lund’s most significant contribution to the club came in the 2000s. Recently ranked eleventh in our Top 30 Players of 2019 list, the sky seems to be the limit for the talented back rower.

  1. David Seymour

Tom’s twin brother Ben comes close and should dominate the position in the 2020s, although it would be a disservice to overlook Seymour here. The former Saracen was pivotal to Sale over an eight-year stint with the club – seven years of which came in the 2010s – and his adept work at the breakdown was often the difference between victory and defeat.

  1. Josh Beaumont

A tough call. Jono Ross has enjoyed a very strong end to the decade in the north-west, but Beaumont’s best performances for the club arguably came at this position rather than in the second row. His powerful ball-carrying was extremely valuable for Sale in years gone by before the rise of the Curry twins, the signing of Ross and the arrival of the du Preez twins from South Africa.

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J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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