A season of foreboding for Sale and Newcastle

The festive season continues to linger on and while it is a time of merriment and goodwill for most, it’s a time of worry and concern for Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons.

The two northernmost Aviva Premiership clubs face an annual battle at this time of the year to retain their best players and gloomy mutterings of departing players often go from rumour to truth once Premiership clubs are officially allowed to talk to other Premiership sides’ players on January 1^st.

Of course, conversations between clubs and agents take place long before then and it can just be a case of the player having to sign on the dotted line come January. With neither team in the European Rugby Champions Cup this season yet still boasting a talented group of young players, are fans of both teams set for bad news in early 2016?

Three of Sale’s standouts, Mike Haley, Ross Harrison and Josh Beaumont, are fortunately for the club under contract and likely to remain in the north-west, but there is concern elsewhere.

Hooker Tommy Taylor is believed to be the subject of interest from Wasps, who have form in luring players south from Sale. If Taylor were to make the move to Wasps, he would join up with fellow former Sale players James Gaskell, Rob Miller, Simon McIntyre and Kearnan Myall. With England’s hooker position currently in vogue with Dylan Hartley, Jamie George, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Youngs all battling it out for selection, there’s also a good chance that Taylor could see a move to Wasps as helpful in his bid to enter that fray.

The rise of Sam James in Sale’s 13 jersey will certainly have caught the eye of many fellow Premiership teams, but they could face another battle to retain Danny Cipriani. The England international signed a two-year deal earlier this year, but there is rumoured interest from home and abroad, with at least one team thought to be willing to buy out the final year of Cipriani’s contract.

There is similar concern in the north-east, with Newcastle’s prized forward asset, George McGuigan, the subject of interest from Leicester Tigers and the Irish provinces. With Leonardo Ghiraldini set to leave Welford Road and join up with Toulouse, the Leicester camp are understood to be concerned with the lack of size between hookers Youngs and Harry Thacker, prompting a move for McGuigan.

A move to Ireland could also appeal to McGuigan, who has represented both the Irish U18 and U20 sides. If he were playing his rugby for one of the provinces, he would be a much more appealing prospect to Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and could find himself the successor to Rory Best in Ireland’s two jersey.

On a more positive note, exciting full-back Simon Hammersley, promising tighthead Scott Wilson and electric winger Zach Kibirige all extended their deals with Newcastle earlier this year and should be kept out of the clutches of the richer southern sides for the time being.

While Sale and Newcastle have done well to extend key players’ contracts this year, their battle will only get tougher next season with the planned increases to the salary cap. If neither team can qualify for the Champions Cup again this season, they could find many of their more promising talents cherry-picked by the Premiership’s elite.

The likes of Ciaran Parker, James Mitchell, Will Witty and Callum Chick are beginning to emerge at both clubs, but for how long will they remain in the north? Only time will tell.