A closer look at who might depart the club at the end of this season:
Ross Harrison’s importance to the side is certainly quite a bit different to what it was a few years ago. A couple of years back, he was probably one of the first names on the team sheet and was the clear first choice at the loosehead prop position. There was probably even an over-reliance on him to play nearly 80 minutes every week, with a lack of depth behind him. Now, England international Bevan Rodd is the clear-cut first choice loosehead prop. Behind him, Simon McIntyre seems to have emerged as the second choice in the final few months of last season and the start of this one with Rodd out injured. So now Harrison has dropped down to third choice and his importance is not what it once was.
Sale signed Springbok Coenie Oosthuizen in the summer of 2019 from the Sharks in Durban. Oosthuizen was 30 years old when he joined, having played 30 times for South Africa. One of his biggest strengths was his ability to play both sides of the scrum and with a salary cap in place in the Premiership, a prop who can play tighthead and loosehead is a valuable asset. However, he has not played for the Springboks during his time at Sale and he probably hasn’t lived up to the expectation. Perhaps Sale signed him just after his peak years and not had the prime Oosthuizen of his days as a regular Springbok. He was also a Steve Diamond signing, pre-dating Alex Sanderson’s arrival as Director of Rugby. He is behind Nick Schonert in the pecking order at tighthead prop and it would be no surprise to see talented youngster James Harper usurp Oosthuizen as second choice sooner rather than later. If Oosthuizen does depart at the end of the season it would likely open up some decent cap space as one would imagine he was on good money when he signed for Sale as a 30-cap South Africa international.
Jono Ross’ future is an intriguing one. He is currently the club captain and is by definition a key leader on and off the field. A few years ago, Ross would have most definitely been one of the first names on the team sheet. Not only was he a great leader for the side, but his performances also led by example. At his peak levels back in 2018 and 2019 he was very unfortunate not to be selected for England. However, ill-discipline and a drop in his level of performance has impacted his game and his play time. Couple that with the presence of the Curry and du Preez twins Ross has fallen down the depth chart. Ross is probably on good money as he is club captain and due to the fact that when he last signed a contract extension he was one of the in-form back-rows in the Premiership. It represents a changing of the guard as players like Jono Ross and Ross Harrison who were once key cogs in this Sale side have slipped down the pecking order.
It is perhaps safe to say Will Cliff is in the twilight of his career and this will probably be his last season at Sale and potentially of his career. Cliff has been a consistent figure for the club across two separate stints and a reliable scrum-half. He turns 34 on 17th October and it feels like Cliff’s Sale career will come to a close at the end of this season.
Joe Simpson signed for the club over the summer to provide experience to the scrum-half position. He has signed on a short-term deal which indicates it is a stop-gap type signing. In the first few Premiership games of this season Gus Warr has been given the starting jersey at scrum half ahead of Simpson. Raffi Quirke is the undoubted first choice in the 9 position, with Gus Warr as his back-up. Nye Thomas is another exciting prospect at scrum half. It does feel that the signing of Simpson is a stop-gap type signing.
The future of Manu Tuilagi will certainly be dominating the media headlines over the coming months until an announcement on his future is officially made. After next year’s World Cup there will undoubtedly be a number of England players who will move abroad as well as the fact that the salary cap will continue to be at a lower level for at least another season. Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is set to join Montpellier at the end of the season in what will be the first of a number of moves for England internationals. Tuilagi will be 32 when the World Cup rolls around next year and the club will be aware that there will be a long queue of teams in France and Japan who will offer him mouth-watering amounts of money. Due to the restrictions of the lower salary cap, Sale know that there is a chance that they will be blown out of the water by huge contract offers from foreign clubs. One would not begrudge Tuilagi taking up a life-changing contract offer knowing that it would potentially be his last big contract. Considering Tuilagi’s injury record it is probably safe to say that he won’t be playing into his late 30’s so he would potentially look at big-money offers from Japan where he could earn double and more what he earns now and would play less rugby. Alex Sanderson has said that as of the end of September, Tuilagi has yet to make a decision on his future and that no conversations have taken place.
The future of Tuilagi could in turn have an impact on Sam Hill’s future. During his 2 years at the club Hill hasn’t quite replicated the performances he consistently put in for Exeter. He has never been a regular for Sale since his move to the North West, however he has been behind Tuilagi and Rohan Janse van Rensburg in the pecking order. Sale said goodbye to Rohan Janse van Rensburg over the summer and with Tuilagi’s future to be decided, it will be interesting to see whether Alex Sanderson sees Hill as a part of his future plans. If Tuilagi does depart, it may make more sense to keep Hill.
Like Ross Harrison and Jono Ross, another man whose importance is not what it once was is Byron McGuigan. A couple of years back, perhaps even 18 months ago, McGuigan was a regular in the Sale first team and a consistent performer on the wing. The emergence of academy products Arron Reed and Tom Roebuck last season pushed McGuigan down the pecking order and the arrival of Tom O’Flaherty from Exeter over the summer has pushed him down further again. McGuigan was a quality signing Steve Diamond, but it might be the right time for a parting of the ways.
Late on in pre-season Sale brought in utility back Jason Woodward on a one-year deal. He has plenty of experience in the Premiership with Bristol and Gloucester and has proven to be a high quality performer. His experience compliments the youth of Luke James and Joe Carpenter in the fullback position. His issue has been a number of recurring injuries so whether he can stay fit for a sustained period may decide whether he stays beyond the one-year deal he has signed. With Luke James out for a few months he will likely get opportunities to stake a claim for the starting 15 jersey up against Joe Carpenter. One could see Woodward’s signing as a stop-gap in the same way that Joe Simpson is, but also this could be seen as a prove it year. He has had a number of injuries in recent seasons, so this is an opportunity for him to get back fully fit, perhaps in a similar way to what Simon McIntyre has done.
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