Sarah Beckett: England forward joins Sale Sharks

Beckett’s older brother Charlie joined Sale as defence coach last season.

“It’ll be really cool to work with Charlie. He’s a great coach with some brilliant ideas,” she said.

“We’re really aligned on the way we see the game and it would be amazing to win a championship with him.”

Sale have enjoyed a breakthrough season this year.

After finishing bottom of Premiership Women’s Rugby in 2024-25, with one win from 16 games, they are in contention for the final play-off spot in this campaign with two rounds of fixtures to go.

Beckett, Stratford and Heard are the ambitious side’s latest big-name England recruits, with fly-half Hollie Aitchison and hooker Amy Cokayne signing last summer, along with Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd.