'I need a new challenge': Beckett latest Gloucester Hartpury star to move north

Sale Sharks have confirmed that Sarah Beckett will be the third England international to join the club from Gloucester Hartpury this summer.

The versatile forward from Crosby, Merseyside, arrives after four years with Gloucester Hartpury, where she has won three Premiership Women’s Rugby titles. She follows fellow Circus players Zoe Stratford and Tatyana Heard to Morson Stadium.

Beckett is the most decorated player in English top flight rugby, having won three PWR titles with Gloucester Hartpury and another with Harlequins.

The 27-year-old has won 35 caps for England and was a full-time player in the Red Roses programme until 2025. She heartbreakingly missed out on selection for the Rugby World Cup 2021 and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

Beckett said: “I’m really excited for a new challenge. The idea of moving back home and coming back to the north to play my rugby feels really exciting.

“I’m looking forward to working with new players and new coaches and I think it’s a great time to join this club because it’s in a really good place.

“I moved down to the south eight years ago because I wanted to move into a full-time programme and there wasn’t an option to do that in the north. Since then, a lot has changed and now it’s more about working out where the best fit for me is. I really think that’s at Sale.

“I’ve won a lot at Gloucester over the past few years but with me being out of the England set-up at the moment, I just feel like I need a new challenge in a new environment.”

A teenage sensation upon making her senior debut for Firewood Waterloo Ladies at 18, Beckett made her England debut against the USA Women’s Eagles in 2018. She featured in every match of the 2019 Women’s Six Nations as the Red Roses secured a Grand Slam.

She will join her brother, Charlie, at the club’s Carrington training base. Charlie joined the club ahead of the 2025/26 season as their defence and Under-23 coach.

Tom Hudson, Sale Sharks head coach, said: “Sarah Beckett is North-West born and bred, a 35 cap Red Rose, and has won four PWR titles with two different clubs.

“Success seems to follow her wherever she goes, so the decision to bring her home was a bit of a no-brainer.

“I am hugely excited to be adding Sarah to our environment and culture and am looking forward to working with her in the pursuit of adding more victories and more success to her already trophy laden career to date.”