Sale Sharks can confirm that hooker Tommy Taylor has been forced to retire from rugby through injury.
The Macclesfield-born 33-year-old hasn’t featured for Alex Sanderson’s side during the 2024/25 season due to nerve damage caused by a back injury.
He will now take up a role with leadership and team development consultancy Leading Edge Performance as a Performance Advisor.
Tommy began his professional career in the Sale Sharks Academy and made 106 appearances for the club and made his England debut before leaving for Wasps in 2016.
He played almost 100 times for Wasps, reaching a Premiership final in his first season, but after five years in Coventry, he returned home to his boyhood club ahead of the 2021/22 season.
In his two spells as a Shark he’s wracked up more than 150 appearances, following in the footsteps of his dad, who also played for Sale.
Tommy said: “It was really tough to leave Sale the first time because my dad played for the club and I’d been a supporter from a very young age. But the club was very different in 2016. Coming back has been brilliant and the club is in such a good place.
“There’s so much homegrown talent at the club now and it feels like a place where players want to spend the best years of their career.
“When I was young I just wanted to play one game for Sale so I’m so proud to have played more than 150.
“I haven’t played this season so I’ve had a long run-up to this point. I had a gut feeling from December that maybe this would be it but I’ve tried everything to get back to fitness.
“I’m excited for the next chapter but I’ll always be a Sale Sharks supporter.”
