'I signed here to play attacking rugby': Aitchison loving life with Sharks

Eight months into Holly Aitchison’s time with Sale Sharks and the playmaker is loving being back in her native North West.

After two seasons with Bristol Bears in the West Country, the fly-half from Formby brought Women’s Rugby World Cup winning and World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year pedigree to Morson Stadium.

The 28-year-old was part of an overhaul in Cheshire. Ahead of the 2025/26 season Tom Hudson was appointed head coach, Charlie Beckett and Luke Stratford arrived as assistant coaches, while 89-cap Red Roses hooker Amy Cokayne also signed for the club.

During the season Canada wing Asia Hogan-Rochester and Ireland back-row Brittany Hogan have also committed to the cause.

Ahead of Round 13, Sale are seventh in the league table and have picked up three wins, a draw and seven losses. The most recent of those victories came against Harlequins and helped the side double down on their win over Trailfinders Women a week prior.

Now the club’s ambition is starting to become recognised and they are just 10 points from knockout rugby with five more regular season games to come, there is a growing sense that this new-look Sharks have made great strides.

“I really needed the move for myself, to be happy personally, and I ticked that box really early,” Aitchison told Sale Sharks.

“On the field, the long-term project was something that really excited me, but until you really meet people and you see what’s going on here you don’t realise how exciting it actually is.

“You see how much energy and money Michelle puts in, how ambitious she is and how much energy the coaching staff are bringing and it makes you buy in and want it so badly for everyone. It’s become incredibly important to me and I feel so invested in the whole process.

“I signed here to play attacking rugby and I knew that Tom’s philosophy was the same. Crossing the line hasn’t been a problem for us – now the focus is on learning to win.

“That’s why the win last weekend against Trailfinders was so important. We’d lost out against Bristol when we felt we should have won and the score against Loughborough didn’t really reflect how long we were in the game for, so to get over the line when it was close was brilliant.

“We pride ourselves on our northern grit and that win at Trailfinders showed what we mean when we say that. Now we want to make winning a habit.”

Next up for Sale is a visit from Loughborough Lightning on home soil. When the teams last met in the second round of the season, Lightning were 19-12 winners in the East Midlands. Now both teams are level on points and there is plenty to play for.