Sale Sharks have signed highly rated Welsh international Nicky Smith ahead of next season.
His arrival is the latest among a number of key new signings, not to mention some notable outgoings from Alex Sanderson’s setup.
Smith, 31, has signed a three-year deal with the Sharks after rounding out his contract and campaign with Leicester Tigers this year.
A seasoned rugby union prop with more than a dozen years of experience, he spent over a decade with the Ospreys back in Wales before making his first senior appearances in England in 2024, making his debut in March and going on to be named in the league’s team of the season in his inaugural Tigers term.
Coming to the CorpArq stadium with a great amount of experience, strength, and overall physicality, the powerful loosehead will get underway with Sale at the start of the 2026/27 season.
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Swansea-born Smith spent his amateur rugby year with his hometown club, Waunarlwydd RFC, before representing Aberavon and eventually going pro with Ospreys by 2012.
He went on to play two centuries of games in the United Rugby Championship (URC) before finally introducing himself to the Gallagher Prem last year, making a total of 31 appearances for the East Midlands side and 10-time title winners.
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With that in mind, it’s fair to say he’s proved a good fit for the division as well as for his national team, earning 59 caps for The Dragons.
Though many see his age bracket as the one where rugby players’ careers typically start to wind down, Smith is clearly confident that he has plenty more to give at this level.
Coming to Manchester soon 🔥
Nicky Smith heads up North with a lot of experience in the Prem and on international level 🏴
Speaking on signing with the Sharks, Nicky said: “I spoke to Alex Sanderson, and I loved how ambitious he was about what the club wants to achieve. It’s really exciting to be joining a team that is so clear about wanting to win things and compete for every trophy.
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“As an opposition player, Sale is always a really tough place to go, and as a forward, you know that you need to front up […] Sale have so many quality international players, especially in the front row, so I can’t wait to play and train with those lads because I know that will help my game.”
As for the Director of Rugby himself, ‘Al’ added: “Nicky has been one of the most aggressive, consistent, high-quality scrummagers in the Prem over the past couple of years.
“He’s caused us a lot of trouble when we’ve played Leicester in that period, and we’ve always felt that we’d love to have him here…” You read what else the pair had to say in the full club statement right HERE.
Salford RLFC finally confirm new head and assistant coaches
Danny Jones
Salford RLFC have finally announced their new head and assistant coach picks as the new rugby league season fast approaches.
The Salfordian phoenix club had already confirmed they’d reached provisional pre-contract agreements with a new boss and several players following the news of the consortium bid that kept the sporting institution alive, but now they officially have a new leadership team to get behind.
Following Salford Red Devils’ resurrection by the aforementioned investment group – though it still remains unclear whether this will eventually include a full rebranding – familiar face Mike Grady and his assistant Dave Hewitt are now in place.
They replace ex-boss Paul Rowley, now at St Helens, and his assistant, Kurt Haggerty, who both left in October and September of last year, respectively.
Sharing the news in an official statement on their new Instagram account amid a major overhaul of their online presence, the local side wrote: “We are proud to announce Mike as the new Head Coach of Salford RLFC, joined by Dave Hewitt as Assistant Coach.
“Mike brings over 12 years of coaching experience across club and international rugby, most recently leading the Salford Women’s team and previously coaching at Widnes.
“His appointment marks another big step forward in our rebuild, combining experience, passion and a deep understanding of what Salford rugby league stands for: hard work, resilience and exciting rugby.
“Joining him, Dave Hewitt, former St Helens and England Academy player, will focus on developing our attacking play and nurturing new talent.”
Hewitt also played for Oldham RLFC across three spells, as well as Rochdale Hornets.
As for the board, they sign off by adding: “Together, Mike and Dave represent the energy and belief driving this new era for Salford RLFC.”
With several ‘key announcements’ soon to be made, we can expect a better idea of what the new and hopefully improved Salford will look like in time for their opener against the Roughyeds in the Championship on Friday, 16 January.
It is worth noting that the club have yet to reveal any actual squad signings.
As for co-owner Caton-Brown, who knows all about the club and the community from his several years playing in the area, we have the pleasure of chatting with him first-hand about the vision for their future.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and co. have decided to cut the 20-year-old’s loan spell at Championship outfit Watford FC short to bolster their ranks along the backline.
The Italian journalist gave the reports the ‘Here We Go!’ seal of approval on Monday, 5 January, following confirmation of Gvardiol‘s ankle problem.
“Man City act fast as Josko Gvardiol will now be out for several weeks with injury”, he writes, “and so Max Alleyne returns.”
Himself a bit of a utility player, having also been deployed in defensive midfield on occasion, the Bristol-born youth academy product could prove a useful option in various positions across the pitch.
While Guardiola admitted that the versatile Croatian star’s issue “doesn’t look good” – this being the same ankle he had surgery on back in November 2025 – it remains to be seen how serious his Portuguese teammate’s muscle concern is.
Romano continues: “Alleyne has been doing great at Watford on loan… City informed the London club this morning, even if they’re very happy [with] how they managed Max over recent months. Club-to-club good relationship, City wanted Alleyne in their squad ASAP, and Watford let Max leave today.”
The England prospect has represented his country in every age group from the under-17s to Lee Carsley’s U21 side, and has certainly impressed on the national stage.
Danny Jones -
17th December 2025 
