James Gaskell will become Sale's youngest captain when he leads the Sharks out against Newcastle in Friday's opening game of the new Premiership season. At the tender age of 20 years and 106 days, the fleet-footed English forward has beaten the previous record held by Alex Sanderson, having been given the job ahead of experienced England internationals such as Charlie Hodgson and Mark Cueto.
It is a further sign of the new era at Edgeley Park following the arrival of the head coach Mike Brewer. Gaskell, who can play flanker or lock, has started only 10 games of Premiership rugby in his fledgling career but won the club's players' player of the year award last season. He was also a prominent figure in the England squad who reached the final of the World Under-20 Championship in 2009.
The Sharks have also included the local teenager Tom Brady in a squad of 27 for the Newcastle game. Andrew Sheridan is fit to return after missing the bulk of last season following shoulder surgery but Hodgson (shoulder), Cueto (calf) and Mathew Tait (knee) are all unavailable.
Leicester Tigers have signed the Tongan international lock Steve Mafi as injury cover following injuries to Geoff Parling and Richard Blaze. The 20-year-old Mafi has been recruited from the Waratahs and has played under-20 rugby for Australia. "He has come through the ranks within Australian club rugby and has been very highly regarded there," said Tigers' director of rugby Richard Cockerill. "He's a big, strong guy, he's young and ambitious, and we're looking forward to seeing how he settles into his rugby here."
England have named a matchday squad of 22 boasting 741 caps for Wednesday's women's World Cup semi-final against Australia at the Twickenham Stoop. England, who qualified as top seeds from the pool stages, are bolstered by the return of captain Catherine Spencer at No8, while Alice Richardson, Fiona Pocock and Amy Turner all start in the back division. "This is a huge game and as such we have picked an extremely experienced side to take on the Australian challenge," said England's coach Gary Street. "The Australian-England rivalry is great in every sporting contest and I am sure it will be no different this time."
