Sale Sharks have appointed Doncaster Knights Head Coach Joe Ford as the club’s new Attack Coach.
The 35-year-old former Sharks, Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints fly-half took the lead role at the Championship side at the start of the current season.
But he has now taken the opportunity to join Alex Sanderson’s staff ahead of the 2025/26 season, and work with younger brother, and current Sharks and England fly-half, George.
Joe said: “I had a conversation with Alex at the back end of the season and it just went from there.
“I was in a great position at Doncaster, with a fantastic squad and a great team around me and there weren’t many jobs that I would have left for. But sometimes a job comes up that just feels right.
“I’m from Manchester, Sale Sharks is my home club, I’ve played there and it’s an amazing opportunity to work with a brilliant set of players and coaches. Plus it could be the only chance I get to work with George. It feels like the right decision for so many reasons.”
Joe originally joined the Knights’ coaching team as Backs Coach from Yorkshire Carnegie in the summer of 2020, before stepping up to the top job.
And after agreeing to join Sale, he paid tribute to his former club.
He added: “When I took over at Doncaster we had about 30 players out of contract but that was a great opportunity for us to have a reset. We brought in a lot of new players and it took a bit of time for everyone to gel.
“Since the turn of the year the results have been fantastic and we finished the season really well. It was a great way for me to finish what’s been a brilliant five years.
“I’ve loved working with Steve, Tony and Geech and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity they gave me and the mentorship I’ve had.
“The job of a Head Coach comes with an awful lot of extra work to deal with so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into being an attack coach again.
“Sharks have a squad filled with incredibly talented attacking players and it’s my job to work out how to get the ball into their hands.
“This is a massive opportunity for us to achieve something really special for the club and for northern rugby and I can’t wait to get started.”
Sharks Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Joe has been so successful in the Championship at a tender age and the players who played under him at Doncaster all say how good he is as an attack coach. At 35 there’s still a lot of growth in him.
“He’s coming on his own merit because he’s a fantastic coach in his own right, but he brings with him the intellectual property of not just himself, but his two brothers and his dad. He has good counsel around him.
“We’ve known Joe for years there’s no reason why he can’t go on to be a very good Director of Rugby in the Premiership in time. As a coaching group we already have strong relationships with him and we can’t wait to see what he can do.”
