Premiership
Springbok, Lood De Jager signs with Premiership side.
Huge Signing.
Sale Sharks have announced the signing of South African International Lood De Jager from the Vodacom Bulls.
De Jager has signed a 3-year contract with the club and will arrive in Manchester ahead of the 19/20 Gallagher Premiership season following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The 26-year-old started his career with the Toyota Cheetahs and quickly burst into the spotlight after a stellar first season. The 6ft 9in powerhouse went on to make 40 Super Rugby appearances for the Bloemfontein based franchise and was rewarded for his outstanding form in 2015, winning the prestigious SA Rugby Player of the Year award.
Known in Super Rugby for his superior physical presence, the 125kg second-row was quickly recognised by the Springbok hierarchy as an upcoming talent and was selected for the national side in May 2014, at just 21 years old. The experienced line-out operator has now won a total of 38 caps for South Africa.
In 2016 De Jager made the switch from Bloemfontein to Pretoria, signing for the Vodacom Bulls ahead of the 2017 Super Rugby Season. He has gone on to make 20 appearances for the Bulls, and was awarded the captaincy ahead of the 2019 season.
Steve Diamond Sale Sharks Director of Rugby Said:
“I am extremely pleased to secure the services Lood for the 2019/20 season. He is a world class line-out operator with lots of experience at the highest level and offers a huge physical presence around the pitch. Lood’s signing is a statement of intent in our endeavour to become a force in the Gallagher Premiership and Europe over the next three years.”
Commenting on the recent announcement Lood said:
“Firstly it is a great honour for me to join Sale Sharks, they are a club with great tradition and really high ambitions and they are building something really special. It’s exciting to be a part of and Im looking forward to joining up with the guys in Manchester later in the year.”
Remember this tussle he had with fellow Springbok Eben Etzebeth?
The club also announced that Dorian West has taken a permanent role as forwards coach at the club.
Dorian joined the club on an interim basis in September 2018 and, working alongside Pete Angelsea had an instant impact on the Sharks set piece.
The former World Cup winner has a wealth of experience both as a player and a coach, having overseen the England U20’s forwards after the conclusion of his illustrious playing career, but most notably guiding Northampton Saints to their most successful season of all time in 2015. The Saints, under West and former Sale captain Jim Mallinder, finished top of the Premiership table that year only to lose out on the title to Saracens in the grand final in May.
Commenting on the news Dorian said:
“I am delighted to have signed a permanent deal at Sale, I have really enjoyed the last 8 months with the Club and I can already see progress being made within the team.”
“The ambition and direction being shown by Dimes and supported by our owners Simon and Ged is second to none and to say I am excited for what the future holds, would be an understatement.”
“I would like to thank Steve for giving me such a great opportunity and we are looking forward to finishing the Gallagher Premiership season on a high, and building on the improvements we have made this year to create a formidable pack capable of challenging at the top of the professional game.”
Sharks Director of Rugby Steve Diamond said:
“Earlier in the season it became apparent that we needed some extra bite within our forwards and some organisation within our set piece.”
“Dorian has an abundance of experience within the game and met all the required criteria we were looking for in a coach.”
“Since joining ‘Nobby’ has fitted into the environment at Carrington seamlessly and his hard work and commitment is already showing dividends.”
Sale Sharks can confirm that fly-half George Ford suffered a tear to his right quad during the early stages of the Gallagher Premiership round two game at Saracens on Saturday. Following a positive consultation with a specialist it was decided that George does not require surgery and he will now begin his rehab ahead of a busy period for club and country.
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Alex Sanderson has made six changes to his starting XV to face Gloucester Rugby in the first game of the season under the Salford Stadium Friday night lights, while summer signing Le Roux Roets appears in a matchday squad for the first time (Discovery+, 7.45pm KO).
Josh Beaumont, Ernst van Rhyn and Rouban Birch come into the pack following the round two defeat at Saracens, while Sam Bedlow, Will Addison and Arron Reed are picked in the backs to face George Skivington’s men.
In total, 12 of the XV and 19 in the matchday 23 have come through or spent time in the Sharks Academy.
The Sharks front-row remains intact from the trip to the StoneX as England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up once again between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and loosehead Si McIntyre.
Al has picked a towering second-row as Ben Bamber teams up with Josh Beaumont.
With Ben and Tom Curry as well as JL du Preez all missing as they undergo their return to play protocols following head injuries, Ernst van Rhyn returns alongside fellow flanker Sam Dugdale and Birch at number 8.
Gus Warr starts again at scrum-half but with George Ford injured (quad) he’ll have skipper Rob du Preez for company at half-back. After coming on as a replacement against Saracens, Bedlow starts alongside Addison, who makes his first start since re-joining the club in the summer.
Speedster Arron Reed makes his first appearance of the season alongside Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter.
Hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper cover the front row from the replacements bench with England U20s lock Tom Burrow and summer signing Le Roux Roets covering the rest of the forwards. Nye Thomas, Tom Curtis and Waisea Nayacalevu cover the backs.
Sale Sharks starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Will Addison, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Rob du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Josh Beaumont 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Rouban Birch.
Replacements:
16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Tom Burrow, 20. Le Roux Roets, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Waisea Nayacalevu.
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Injuries have forced Alex Sanderson to make three changes to his starting XV to face Saracens at the StoneX on Saturday (3.05pm KO, Saturday 28th September, live on TNT Sports).
Si McIntyre replaces last week’s Player of the Match Bevan Rodd (hamstring), while Ben Bamber and Sam Dugdale come in for Ernst van Rhyn and Tom Curry who are both undergoing their return to play protocols after leaving the field during the round one win over Harlequins.
With Sam Bedlow returning to the bench to make a 5-3 split, the matchday squad features 16 players who have come through or been involved with the Sale Sharks Academy.
In the front-row, England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and returning loosehead McIntyre.
Al has picked a towering second-row as Bamber teams up with Hyron Andrews.
Openside flanker Ben Curry captains the side again and he and Dugdale will pack down either side of Jean-Luc du Preez at number 8.
The backs are unchanged from the narrow win over Quins, with Gus Warr starting again at scrum-half alongside fly-half George Ford, and Rob du Preez and Waisea Nayacalevu outside them in the centres.
Alex has picked a familiar back three once again with Tom O’Flaherty, Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter hoping to provide the spark.
The replacements bench is an exclusively Sharks Academy affair with hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper covering the front row. Josh Beaumont and Rouban Birch make up the rest of the forwards, while Nye Thomas, Bedlow and Will Addison cover the backs.
Sale Sharks Starting lineup:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Waisea Nayacalevu, 12. Rob du Preez, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Hyron Andrews, 6. Sam Dugdale, 7. Ben Curry ©, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez.
Replacements:
16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Rouban Birch, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Sam Bedlow, 23. Will Addison.
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