Vadim Cobilas gone.
Tommy Taylor possibly/probably gone. Rumours of a 'break out' clause in Danny Cipriani's contract. No re-signings announced. No new recruits announced. Over the last few weeks there has been a palpable sense of frustration amongst Sale fans, and for good reason. Every iota of Sharks-related news aside from Sale's victory over Wasps a fortnight ago has been negative, focusing on rumours of players leaving, dwindling attendances, and general pessimism. The Tommy Taylor saga has been particularly depressing for Sale fans as the Sharks look set to lose another promising stalwart to the lure of the Ricoh Arena despite the club's best attempts to keep him. And with nothing noteworthy forthcoming from the club to get supporters in the least bit excited (in fairness it's not their fault that nobody cares about Number Cruncherz or MBNA staff visiting Carrington) it became obvious that Sale needed something, anything, to generate some positive feeling around the club's current direction. Luckily that break came Wednesday afternoon with the announcement of Eddie Jones' inaugural England squad for the upcoming Six Nations tournament. The more negative fans out there will point to the supposed overlooking of Danny Cipriani as a reason to be pessimistic, both about Cipriani's chances of ever making it back into the England international fold and the odds that he will remain unswayed by the potential mega-riches on the table from France. And although those are valid concerns, with only two fly-halves named in the 33-man EPS and Cipriani's below-average place kicking in the Premiership this season, it is not necessarily a tragedy that Cipriani didn't make it in. Instead it gives Sale's mercurial star time to hone his kicking to international standard with an eye on England's summer tour to Australia. It's also hard to doubt that Cipriani will be first in line for a callup should either George Ford or Owen Farrell become injured before or during the competition. But we shouldn't let those worries dampen what should be celebrated as fantastic news for Sale and Josh Beaumont. Beaumont has been one of the stand-out performers at Number 8 in the Premiership for a season-and-a-half now, and his abilities as a ball-carrier and lineout extraordinaire are such that he has earned deserved international recognition despite having only made forty senior appearances for Sale. It is unknown whether Eddie Jones sees the former Fylde and Durham University graduate as better served to feature for England in the second row or in his current back row position at Sale. What is worth noting however is that Beaumont's inclusion came at the expense of Gloucester's No.8 Ben Morgan - no mean fate in itself - which suggests Beaumont could find himself as Billy Vunipola's understudy-in-waiting during this year's Six Nations. This is likely only the start of what promises to be a glittering international and domestic career for Beaumont, but we shouldn't lose sight of the importance for Sale of his inclusion onto the international stage. For a start, Sale now have more representatives in the current England squad than Newcastle Falcons, London Irish, and Worcester Warriors combined, and are tied with Gloucester Rugby, whose flanker, Matt Kvesic, is their sole delegate. Beaumont's inclusion should also finally begin to dispel this bizarre myth that you cannot be selected for international consideration if you play at a club north of the Midlands. It is my belief that if you're talented enough you will be considered for England duty as Danny Cipriani's selection for last year's Six Nations squad should have proved. There are no 'trendy' or 'untrendy' clubs despite what Paul Ackford - and a worryingly high percentage of Sale fans - think. And although I do not believe Beaumont's selection will have any impact on whether Tommy Taylor opts to stay at Sale or leave for Wasps, it hopefully gives the rest of Sale's young English contingent pause for thought that international aspirations can be achieved with the Sharks. The idea of an 'anti-Northern' bias is folly, and Sale, by nature of their position within the modern Premiership, will always give their players every opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and international pedigree to the RFU. So congratulations to Josh, who, in a sign of things to possibly come, will celebrate his first senior England selection by captaining Sale for the first time against Pau on Friday. Beaumont is fully deserving of his spot within Eddie Jones' new-look England side and an exciting future lies ahead both for himself and English rugby.
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