Sale Sharks 2022-23 season preview - prediction, signings, ones to watch
Sale will be keeping everything crossed that Manu Tuilagi can stay fit this term
©PA
Will Sale Sharks be able to build upon last season’s sixth place finish?
Alex Sanderson has had to deal with a mass exodus going into his second full campaign in charge but having finished just outside the play-off places, have they got enough in their arsenal to break back into the top four?
The Director of Rugby has seen his side lose a host of their huge South African contingency in Faf De Klerk, JP Du Preez, Lood De Jager and Rohan van Rensburg.
However, despite the departure of these world class stars, the Manchester side are still hopeful going into 2022-23 due to the homegrown talent they have and their shrewd English-based signings.
Last time out
Sale Sharks finished just five points off the top four last time out, but this might have been a slightly disappointing outcome after they reached the semi-finals the previous season for the first time since they won the Premiership back in 2006.
Sale have become known as a nearly team of late, who always seem to come up just short of the top four finishing in fifth, sixth and seventh in three of the last four seasons.
They will be hoping for a better start to the campaign this time around as they only picked up two wins from their opening seven matches in 2021-22.
The Sharks ended the season with three wins from three and will be looking to take that form into the new term as they try and bring glory to the AJ Bell Stadium.
Incomings:
George Ford (Fly-half) from Leicester Tigers
Jonny Hill (Second Row) from Exeter Chiefs
Tom O’Flaherty (Winger) from Exeter Chiefs
Jason Woodward (Full-back) from Gloucester
Joe Simpson (Scrum-half) from Gloucester on a short-term deal
Outgoings:
AJ MacGinty (Fly-half) to Bristol Bears
JP Du Preez (Second Row) to Glasgow Warriors
Curtis Langdon (Hooker) to Worcester Warriors
Cameron Neild (Back Row) to Worcester Warriors
Faf De Klerk (Scrum-half) to Yokohama Canon Eagles
Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Centre) to Sharks
Lood De Jager (Second Row) to Saitama Wild Knights
Jack Metcalf (Winger) to Ealing Trailfinders
Simon Hammersley (Full-back) retired
Areas of strength
One massive strength of the Sale squad is the quality of depth in the hooker position.
Akker Van der Merwe is a seasoned pro now at 31-years-old and will lead the team from the front, but when he is eventually taken off the field, the Sharks have a ready-made replacement in breakout star Ewan Ashman.
The 22-year-old has made waves in recent seasons, even earning four caps for Scotland after impressing at under-20 level.
The youngster scored on his senior debut in a win against Australia and hasn’t looked back since.
The Scotsman was all set to go to Glasgow Warriors last term, but Sale’s injury crisis meant he stayed in Manchester where he made himself a regular in Sanderson’s squad.
To add to Van der Merwe and Ashman, Sale also have hometown boy Tommy Taylor to call upon.
This quality in the hooker position should make sure their set-pieces are watertight and a major weapon in opposition territory.
There is also good quality depth in the scrum-half position for Sale this season.
They lost their talismanic number nine in Faf De Klerk, but the pain surrounding his departure wasn’t as great as you would expect due to the breakthrough of Raffi Quirke in the last two campaigns.
Quirke is now a full England international and will be hoping he can stay injury free this season and be Sale’s main man.
Veteran Joe Simpson has been brought in on a short-term deal to bring competition to the scrum-half position and to cover Quirke, who is still working his way back to full fitness.
Gus Warr and Will Cliff are also both quality players to fill the nine shirt when Quirke isn’t available.
Areas of weakness
The engine room at the AJ Bell Stadium has been decimated this off-season with South African pair JP Du Preez and De Jager leaving for pastures new.
The number five shirt was worn by one of the duo in every game last season bar two, which shows how much of a loss they are to the Manchester-based side.
Jonny Hill has been brought in to replace the South Africans, but if the former Exeter Chiefs man was to get injured or when he leaves with England, then Sale have very few replacements of the same quality.
It looks like normal back-row options in Cobus Weise and Jean-Luc Du Preez may have a lot of game time in the lock positions however, Dom Barrow and Josh Beaumont are more than capable of putting in strong shifts for Sale with the latter hoping to get back to his best after a tough time with injuries.
One position which could also be a weakness going into this campaign is the centres.
When everyone is fully-fit, you would expect Manu Tuilagi and Sam James to start which is a great centre partnership.
The problem will come when Tuilagi, who has shown himself to be injury prone, has another setback or goes away with England.
This will mean Robert Du Preez will most likely slot into the 12 position which reduces Sale’s firepower and sheer strength of the carry in attack.
George Ford’s lengthy spell on the sidelines is also something which Sanderson will have to work around with reports suggesting the fly-half will not be back in action until December after suffering an Achilles injury in the Premiership final in June.
Opening fixtures
Round 1: Northampton Saints (H)
Round 2: Bath Rugby (A)
Round 3: Exeter Chiefs (H)
Round 4: Leicester Tigers (A)
Round 5: London Irish (H)
The Sharks start the opening weekend on a Friday night against top four rivals Northampton Saints.
An away trip to Bath follows, which will be a big opportunity for Sale to begin with two wins this campaign.
Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers and London Irish in the next three are all difficult games but being at the AJ Bell Stadium for two of the matches will help their cause.
Predicted line-up:
1. Bevan Rodd
2. Akker Van der Merwe
3. Nick Schonert
4. Jean-Luc Du Preez
5. Jonny Hill
6. Jono Ross
7. Tom Curry
8. Dan Du Preez
9. Raffi Quirke
10. Rob du Preez
11. Tom O’Flaherty
12. Manu Tuilagi
13. Sam James
14. Tom Roebuck
15. Luke James
Predicted finish: 6th
Everyone can see that Sale have lost huge quality this off-season - especially in the engine room in the form of De Jager and Du Preez - but this isn’t the reason why I think they will finish outside the play-offs again.
Their squad has been rejuvenated with English talent coming in, but I don’t believe it is any stronger overall.
With this in mind, and also the strength of the teams above Sale such as Leicester Tigers and Saracens, it is hard to see Sanderson’s men making it into the top four.
I also believe when their England players leave for international duty, they will struggle to replace them and you could see Sale being quite an up-and-down team.
Despite this, Sanderson is a good coach who will learn a lot more about his squad this season which will help him build for the future.
