Sale Sharks have appointed Championship side Doncaster Knights head coach Joe Ford as the club’s new attack coach.
The 35-year-old older brother of current Sharks and England fly-half George joins Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson’s staff ahead of the 2025-26 season.
As a player, former fly-half Joe spent three years at Sale making 48 appearances for the club between 2013 and 2016.
He joined second-tier club Doncaster in 2020 as assistant coach before becoming the club’s head coach last year, leading the club to a third-place finish in his only season in full charge.
“I was in a great position at Doncaster and there weren’t many jobs that I would have left for but sometimes a job comes up that just feels right,” Ford told Sale’s club website, external.
“I’m from Manchester, Sale Sharks is my home club, I’ve played there plus it could be the only chance I get to work with George. It feels like the right decision for so many reasons.”
Sale, who finished last season fourth in the Premiership and lost to Leicester in the play-off semi-finals, have not disclosed the length of Ford’s contract.
Sanderson said: “Joe has been so successful in the Championship at a tender age and the players who played under him at Doncaster all say how good he is as an attack coach.
“We’ve known Joe for years, there’s no reason why he can’t go on to be a very good director of rugby in the Premiership in time.”
