Sale

History of Sale Sharks

Sale rugby club is one of the oldest rugby union clubs in England. The team was founded way back in 1861, when they were known as Sale Football Club. Ever since, Sale rugby club has been one of the leading rugby union clubs in the North of England.

Since 1999, Sale rugby club have officially adopted the 'Sharks' nickname. Since 2012, they've played at the CorpAcq Stadium (formerly known as Salford Community Stadium). 

Since Sale rugby club have been known as Sale Sharks, the side has been largely successful. In fact, since the launch of the Premiership, Sale have never been relegated from the top flight. However, although the team has been competitive during this period, they've only won the Premiership title once, in 2005-06. That said, in recent years they have regularly featured in the knockout stages of the tournament and they were losing finalists in 2022-23. 

In addition to this, the Sale rugby team won the Premiership Cup in 2019-20. On top of this, they've also won the EPCR Challenge Cup on two occasions (2001-02 and 2004-05). However, in the European Rugby Champions Cup, Sale rugby club have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals stage.

Due to the team's successes over the years, Sale rugby club have regularly been able to attract international-calibre players. For example, the likes of Faf de Klerk, Tom Curry and Manu Tuilagi have all played for Sale Sharks in Manchester. 

Sale Sharks continue to set the standard for rugby in the North of England. We’re sure their next Premiership Rugby title isn’t too far away.