# Sale Sharks Women

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.

## History

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, committing £1 million over a three-year period to their women's section. Their application was successful, and on 6 April, Sale Sharks Women were entered into the league alongside Exeter Chiefs Women, replacing Waterloo and Richmond.
Sale's application to be a part of the Premier 15s from the 2023/24 season onwards was initially rejected by the RFU. The club would later receive a conditional offer to fill one of the two remaining places in the league in February 2023.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, head coach Rachel Taylor and Louise Dalgliesh left the club's coaching setup, with new head coach Tom Hudson being appointed in February 2025 to prepare for the upcoming 25/26 PWR season.

## Home ground

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. In March 2024, the club played their first standalone game at the men's home venue, the Salford Community Stadium, and this was followed up with a double header at the ground in December 2024.

## Season summaries

Season Summaries :
| | League | League | League | League | Cup | Cup |
| Season | Competition | Final position | Points | Play-offs | Competition | Performance |
| 2020–21 | Allianz Premier 15s | 9th | 19 | – | No competition | No competition |
| 2021–22 | Allianz Premier 15s | 9th | 14 | – | Allianz Cup | 3rd in pool |
| 2022–23 | Allianz Premier 15s | 7th | 35 | – | Allianz Cup | 7th |
| 2023–24 | Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby | 8th | 13 | – | Allianz Cup | 6th |
| 2024–25 | Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby | 9th | 4 | – | No competition | No competition |
Gold background denotes champions Silver background denotes runners-up

## Current players

As of September 2023
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

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

| Role | Name |
| Head Coach | Tom Hudson |
| Assistant Coach | Mark Cueto |
| Defence Coach | Charlie Beckett |
| Scrum Coach | Luke Stratford |
| Lineout & Maul Coach | Pete Anglesea |
* As of 1 March 2025, for the 2025–26 season.