Sale Sharks Women are a women's rugby union club based in Sale, Greater Manchester, England. They were founded in 2020 as the women's team of Premiership Rugby side Sale Sharks. They currently compete in Premiership Women's Rugby, the highest division of women's rugby union in England.

Sale Sharks Women
Full nameSale Sharks Women
UnionRFU
Founded2020
Ground(s)Heywood Road
Coach(es)Rachel Taylor
Captain(s)Lauren Delany & Georgie Perris-Redding
League(s)PWR

History

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On 30 January 2020, Premiership Rugby side Sale Sharks announced that they would apply for place in the Premier 15s League ahead of the 2020–21 season,[1] committing £1 million over a three-year period to their women's section.[2] Their application was successful,[3] and on 6 April, Sale Sharks Women were entered into the league alongside Exeter Chiefs Women, replacing Waterloo and Richmond.[4]

Sale's application to be a part of the Premier 15s from the 2023/24 season onwards was initially rejected by the RFU.[5] The club would later receive a conditional offer to fill one of the two remaining places in the league in February 2023.[6]

Home ground

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Sale Sharks Women play their home matches at Heywood Road (currently named CorpAcq Stadium for sponsorship reasons) in Sale, Greater Manchester, and train at Carrington Lane, the Sale Sharks High Performance Centre owned by Sale FC.[7]

Season summaries

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Premiership Domestic Cup
Season Competition Final Position Points Play-offs Competition Performance
2020–21 Allianz Premier 15s 9th 19 N/A No competition N/A
2021–22 Allianz Premier 15s 9th 14 Allianz Cup 3rd in pool
2022–23 Allianz Premier 15s 7th 35 Allianz Cup 7th
2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby 8th 13 Allianz Cup 6th

Current players

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As of September 2023[8]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Scarlett Fielding Hooker   England
Molly Kelly Hooker   Wales
Marion Ridegway Hooker   England
Niamh Swailes Hooker   England
Molly Wright Hooker   Scotland
Catie Benson Prop   United States
Detysha Harper Prop   England
Elsbeth Innes Prop   England
Alice Iwanejko Prop   England
Nick James Prop   United States
Erica Jarrell Prop   United States
Sophie Lewis Prop   England
Jessica Panayiotou Prop   England
Gwenllian Pyrs Prop   Wales
Evie Roach Prop   England
Amber Schonert Prop   South Africa
Niamh Williams Prop   England
Iona Antwis Lock   England
Trudy Cowan Lock   England
Vicky E Irwin Lock   Ireland
Molly Morrissey Lock   England
Elizabeth Shermer Lock   England
Morwenna Talling Lock   England
Jo Brown Back row   Ireland
Alba Capell Back row   Spain
Jasmine Hazell Back row   England
Katie Moore Back row   England
Sara Moreira Back row   Portugal
Georgie Perris-Redding (cc) Back row   United States
Lucie Sams Back row   England
Kay Searcy Back row   England
Player Position Union
Willow Bell Scrum-half   England
Olivia Ortiz Scrum-half   United States
India Perris-Redding Scrum-half   United States
Sofia Stefan Scrum-half   Italy
Jess Taylor-Roberts Scrum-half   Wales
Cara Cookland Fly-half   England
Lizzie Duffy Fly-half   Ireland
Grace White Fly-half   England
Robyn Wilkins Fly-half   Wales
Hollie Bawden Centre   England
Alicia Calton Centre   England
Katana Howard Centre   United States
Vicky A Irwin Centre   Ireland
Laura Perrin Centre   England
Rachel Phillips Centre   Scotland
Beatrice Rigoni Centre   Italy
Lauren Bolger Wing   England
Frankie Harvey Wing   England
Sophie Hopkins Wing   England
April Ishida Wing   England
Nikita Prothero Wing   England
Ellen Ramsbottom Wing   England
Holly Thorpe Wing   England
Eva Wood Wing   England
Lauren Delany (cc) Fullback   Ireland
Isobel McGuire-Evans Fullback   Scotland
Rachel Woosey Fullback   England

Notable Players

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The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Sale Sharks:

Tournament Players selected England players Other national team players
2021   11 Rachel McLachlan, Molly Wright, Sarah Law, Lisa Thomson  , Sara Tounesi  , Carly Waters, Catie Benson, Georgie Perris-Redding, Joanna Kitlinksi, Katana Howard, Nick James  

Club staff

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Role Name
Head of Operations for Women's Rugby   Callum Yorke[9]
Women's Performance Lead   Katy Daley-McLean
Women's Performance Coach   Rachel Taylor[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Sale Sharks Enter Unchartered Waters with High Performance Women's Team Bid". Sale Sharks. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. ^ Tomas, Fiona (6 April 2020). "Premier 15s clubs being underfunded, says Richmond board director". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Club Statement – Sale Sharks Women to join Tyrrells Premier 15's". Sale Sharks. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Tyrrells Premier 15s clubs until 2020 confirmed". Premier 15s. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Club Statement - Sale Sharks Women". Sale Sharks. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Sharks Women receive conditional offer to join Premier 15s". Sale Sharks. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. ^ "About". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Womens Archives". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Sale Sharks Women appoint Katy Daley-Mclean as Women's Performance Lead". Sale Sharks. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Former Wales star Taylor joins Sharks Women's coaching team". Sale Sharks. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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