Another day, another surprise announcement.
First thing on Sunday morning, Sale Sharks announced that winger/centre Will Addison and centre Mark Jennings had both signed extensions to their current contracts at the club, although the length of their respective new deals were not disclosed. The announcement makes Addison and Jennings the first of Sale’ current crop of out-of-contract players to re-sign for next season (and possibly beyond) and off-sets the understandable disappointment that came with the news that both Tommy Taylor and Vadim Cobilas will be leaving the club upon the culmination of their contracts at the end of the season. In fact it is in light of the news that Taylor - the latest in a worryingly long list to desert Sale and move down the M6 to join Premiership rivals Wasps - will leave the club at the end of the season that makes his fellow teammates' decision to commit their future to Sale that bit sweeter. The importance of the deals struck with Messers Addison and Jennings should not be understated; for the first time in far too long Sale have not only managed to nurture the talents of two young and exciting English players to the point where they are impactful Premiership players with a number of years of experience under their belts, but have then been able to convince their stalwarts to disregard interest from elsewhere to re-commit to the club that initially brought them through. Addison - even if his admitted preference is to play centre - is the best, and most complete, winger the Sharks currently have at their disposal bar none and the 23-year-old is currently enjoying a breakthrough season now that his lengthy troubles with injury appears to be behind him. Jennings, 22, meanwhile is being groomed as the long-term replacement of Sam Tuitupou at the inside centre position, with the latter, now 34 years old and apparently unable to partake in any form of training session during the week leading up to games, inching towards retirement. Jennings' combative and impactful playing style is the perfect fit for Steve Diamond's idealised attacking system and both Jennings and Addison now appear to be pencilled in as lynchpins of the Sale backline for years to come. And the sudden reversal in the signing tendencies of Sale's young players with genuine international aspirations - and make no mistake both Addison and Jennings possess the talent to seriously contend for England honours in the future - has offered the club a significant boost to the 'feel good' factor emanating from all aspects of Sale at present. From Josh Beaumont's selection as an England international, to signing another England international to replace the aforementioned Taylor, to Saturday's prodigious 10-3 victory away to Leicester, to the Sharks' current unbeaten start to 2016 - there is a real buzz in the air when discussing the club's current fortunes that the Addison and Jennings news will only contribute to. Whilst it was frustrating to not have confirmation of how long either Addison or Jennings have extended for, as one Twitter user pointed out to me, this could be a deliberate attempt by Sale to obfuscate any future attempts from rival clubs to poach either from the club. If opaqueness is the price to pay to keep two of Sale's budding stars at the club, it's an acceptable price to pay. Now, when is David Seymour re-signing? Follow @SharkTankRugby on Twitter for more news, analysis, and opinions.
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