Current players
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.
| Full name | Sale Sharks Women |
|---|---|
| Union | RFU |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Ground(s) | Heywood Road |
| Coach(es) | Rachel Taylor |
| Captain(s) | Lauren Delany & Georgie Perris-Redding |
| League(s) | PWR |
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.
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]
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]
| 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 | |
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.
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  |
| 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] |
The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier 15s.
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, it is one of the oldest existing football clubs. It adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999.
Darlington Mowden Park Sharks Ladies Rugby Football Club is a women's rugby union club in Darlington, County Durham, England founded in 1996. Their top try scorer Louisa Ramsey became the first player to score over 10 tries for Scotland. They are the ladies team of Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C. and played in the Allianz Premier 15s until 2023. They also play their home games at The Darlington Arena.
Saracens Women (/ˈsærəsənz/) are an English women's rugby union club based in Hendon, London. They were established in 1989 and currently play in Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-level competition of women's rugby in the country.
David Patrick Ward is an English rugby union player for Premiership side Harlequins, and Head Coach of Bristol Bears Women. A hooker, Ward has previously played for Ampthill RUFC, Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby and the Cornish Pirates. At international level he has represented the England under-18s, under-21s and Saxons.
Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club are an English women's rugby union club based in Hartpury, Gloucestershire. They are the unified women's team of Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury University R.F.C. They were founded in 2014 and since 2017 they have played in Premiership Women's Rugby.
Waterloo Ladies Rugby Football Club, known for sponsorship reasons as Firwood Waterloo Ladies Rugby Football Club, is a women's rugby union club based in Blundellsands, Merseyside, England. They are the women's team of Waterloo FC. They were established in 1989 by England national women's rugby union team player Gill Burns. In 2020 they lost their place in the Premier 15s after their re-applications were rejected.
Harlequins Women, formerly known as Harlequins Ladies, are a women's rugby union club based in Guildford, Surrey, England and in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. They were founded in 1995 as the women's team of Harlequin F.C. and rebranded in 2017 after merging with Aylesford Bulls. In 2017, they were selected as one of the franchises for the new Premier 15s league, but they also cater for new, aspiring and social players within their 3rd XV squad.
Premiership Women's Rugby, officially known as Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby or The Allianz PWR, is an annual semi-professional women's rugby union club competition at the highest level of the English rugby union system, and is run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). It is contested by nine clubs who play two series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. It began play in the 2017–18 season, superseding the former Women's Premiership, and introducing elements of professionalism in the sport's highest level. In its first six seasons, the competition was known as the Premier 15s. Gloucester-Hartpury are the current champions, while Saracens have won the most championships (3).
Sara Louise Cox is an English rugby union referee and former rugby union footballer. In 2016, she became the world's first professional female rugby union referee, and in 2018 she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Cup match. On 25 September 2021, she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Union Match when she took centre field for a fixture between Harlequins and Worcester Warriors at the Stoop.
Exeter Chiefs Women are a professional women's rugby union team based in Exeter, Devon, England. They were founded in 2019 to take part in the Premier 15s, the top level of English women's rugby. They are based at Sandy Park and are affiliated to Premiership Rugby's Exeter Chiefs. The side is coached by Head Coach, Susie Appleby. Kate Zackary and Poppy Leitch operate as co-captains of the side.
Gwenllian Pyrs is a Welsh rugby union player who plays loosehead prop for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Sale Sharks Women of Premier 15s. She made her debut for the Wales rugby union team in 2017 and has played in 15 matches for the national side. Pyrs has played for Scarlets, RGC Women, Caernarfon RFC and Firwood Waterloo at the club level. She works as a farmer, sheepdog breeder and trainer as well as a rugby hub officer for the Welsh Rugby Union while continuing her rugby career.
Lisa Neumann is a Welsh Rugby Union player who plays wing for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Harlequins. Neumann made her international debut in 2018, and represented the Wales squad at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Detysha Martin Harper is an English rugby union player. She represents England women's national rugby union team internationally and plays for Sale Sharks at club level.
The 2021–22 Premier 15s is the 5th season of the Premier 15s, of the top flight of English domestic women's rugby union competition and the second to be sponsored by Allianz. Incorporated in the season also was the inaugural Allianz Cup, a women's equivalent of the Premiership Rugby Cup.
The 2017–18 Premier 15s was the inaugural season for the Premier 15s and began on 16 September 2017. Saracens Women won the inaugural Championship after defeating Harlequins Ladies in their final 24–20.
The 2022–23 Premier 15s is the 6th season of the Premier 15s, the highest tier of English domestic women's rugby union competition, and the 3rd to be sponsored by Allianz.
Leicester Tigers Women is a women's rugby union club based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. They are the women's team of Leicester Tigers. They were founded in 2021 and as of 2023, play in Premiership Women's Rugby.
The 2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby is the seventh season of Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-flight domestic women's rugby union club competition in England. Sponsored by Allianz for the fourth consecutive season, it is the first season under the rebranded banner of Premiership Women's Rugby, succeeding six seasons under Premier 15s branding.
Fiona McIntosh is an English-born Scottish rugby union player, who currently plays as a lock for Saracens Women in Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-tier competition of women's rugby union in England, and the Scotland national team.
