Players

Chris Jones, who won another two caps in Australia last June and excelled in the second Test in Melbourne, specialises in athletic lineout takes and long-range tries and had the distinction of being the only forward to score a hat trick of Premiership tries in 2004-05 – during the Sharks’ 57-3 win over Worcester Warriors.

A former England Sevens player, he is among a new breed of locks with lithe skills and helped England to triumph in the Churchill Cup in Canada the summer before last.

Had made a dream start with a debut Test try off the bench against Italy in February 2004. Chris was working part-time in the club’s community department when former Sale Shark Dave Baldwin took him to Fylde on loan and a startling rise to the England Sevens squad in New Zealand followed.

A product of Stockport Grammar School and Sheffield Hallam University, he played for Cheshire at Under-18s and 20s level and then for Altrincham Kersal. He was part of the England A team that beat France, Scotland and Italy in 2003 and has played for the England XV against the Barbarians.

Did you know? Chris was stunned just before his Sale debut against Narbonne in 2001 when he had his boots cleaned by none other than Jason Robinson, who was not registered to play in the match. Bryan Redpath, a former Shark now coaching at Gloucester, also commands the great respect of Chris. An all-rounder on the sports field when a schoolboy, he enjoyed cricket and his rugby career blossomed when he moved into senior school and came under the influence of coach Chris Wright. He went on to take a Business Studies course in Sheffield and was three years into it when the Sharks invited him to join them. Chris is also a movie fanatic and has a huge DVD collection.