Sale’s owners have dismissed talk of the club signing Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, the two Irish international players sacked by Ulster last month. The Sharks had reportedly been considering employing at least one of the pair but appear to have had a change of heart.
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In a statement on Wednesday the club insisted there was “no substance to the rumours currently circulating in relation to the signing of the two international rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding”. It added that “our search continues for top-class players to bolster the squad for next season”.
Sale have previously denied recruitment stories that have turned out to be true, as happened before the arrival of James O’Connor and Faf de Klerk in Manchester last year, but this time it would seem the board is wary of alienating fans and sponsors. Initially the club indicated they had no plans to say anything publicly on the issue until this weekend before hastily changing their stance after, among other things, a petition was launched on Facebook.
It leaves the playing futures of Jackson and Olding up in the air, despite their acquittals in March for rape following a nine-week trial at Belfast crown court. A series of sexually explicit WhatsApp conversations between the players and their friends led to the pair’s Ulster contracts being revoked last month. Jackson has been capped 25 times for Ireland. Olding played four times for his country.
Italian rugby is mourning the death of Rebecca Braglia, an 18-year-old player with the Amatori Parma club. She had been in intensive care after an incident in a match in Ravenna on Sunday where she was tackled and apparently hit the back of her neck on the ground. “Now she’s playing in the championship in Heaven,” her father, Giuliano, said.