It’s been a meteoric rise for Sharks sensation Asher Opoku-Fordjour ever since the former Wasps academy prop first appeared in a Sale matchday squad for the Premiership Rugby Cup fixture against Bedford at the start of the 23/24 season. 

Back then he was an unknown quantity for opposition front-rows, but fast-forward a year and the 20-year-old is anything but. Powerful performances against propping royalty like Andrew Porter and Joe Marler, plus a live TV endorsement from the England man, a starring role for England’s U20 side, and two Gallagher Premiership starts means Asher is a marked man.  

But he’s not one to run away from a challenge. 

He said: “It’s been a great start to the season personally. I was really grateful to get the start in the first game and even though the Sarries game didn’t go so well, I feel like I’m growing as a player and I feel really free. That’s all that matters for me. 

“I find there’s more pressure coming off the bench because it’s your responsibility to lift the team if they’re down or keep them up if it’s going well. So being able to start games has been great. 

“Last season was surreal. Coming into the season I was training hard but I didn’t expect an opportunity. But then we had some injuries and Al backed me to have a crack and play in some really big games. 

“Al puts loads of trust in the younger players. He makes you feel like there’s no pressure so you can go out and do what you do. As a young player it can feel like all the eyes are on you but it’s so important to be able to play with freedom. 

“It’s so important for a young player to have that confidence to go and dominate and make an impact, not just be safe and average. I feel like everyone at Sale gives me the confidence to do that. 

“We know we might make mistakes but we’ll get the fixes the next day or the next week.” 

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though, for Asher. After breaking through last season he had some challenges thrown his way as opposition coaches started to train their eyes on him and focus their attention on how to stop him. 

He said: “I did have some setbacks last season and that’s how it felt, especially the Saints game where I got a yellow card. That hurt me a lot. I took it personally and it gave me the drive to make sure every game after that was better than the last one. 

“I think being a young front-rower is really hard. There are guys who have been doing this for years and they know all the dark arts and the tricks of the trade. For me it’s just important to keep learning and I know I’m in the perfect environment to do that. 

“I love it when I get the chance to play against a big name. There’s something in me that makes me want to dominate them even more. Some people just want to survive but for me, I want to go out and dominate and I go into every game with that mindset.” 

Asher won’t be the only promising young prop on show at the Salford Stadium on Friday. Gloucester boast their own front-row sensation in Afolabi Fasogbon, who gave England stalwart Ellis Genge a torrid time when George Skivington’s side took on Bristol last weekend. 

Afo and Asher are just two of a promising cohort of young, English props, pushing each other week in, week out in the Premiership. 

He said: “There’s Afo, Billy Sela (at Bath) and loads more. It’s so good to see and it’s great competition for us all. Afo and I are pretty close and we’ve spent a lot of time in camps together. He’s a great guy and the game needs big characters like that. 

“We’re both playing tighthead at the moment but I’d love to be playing against him on the same side. I know ways around him though so I’ll be passing that on to Si Mac before Friday.” 

Your Sharks came up short against Saracens in round two but the whole squad has been working hard to right the wrongs from the StoneX, starting with one key element. 

Asher added: “Our penalty count let us down against Saracens. We need to be more disciplined because if we’re giving that number of penalties away, we’re going to let teams in. It doesn’t matter how good our attack is. 

“Saracens just bided their time and waited for us to give them a penalty. We didn’t make them work hard enough for points. 

“We know Gloucester will come and play this Friday. They’re kicking less, they’ve got guys like Christian Wade in good form, and it’s going to take a big defensive effort from us.” 

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