Sharks director of Rugby Alex Sanderson has paid tribute to the ‘unique character’ of Mike Forshaw after the Sale defence coach agreed to join Warren Gatland’s coaching set-up at Wales ahead of the 2023 Six Nations.
He said: “When I was at Saracens we had a real rivalry because we were defence coaches of different organisations. What was very apparent over two or three years was that he was better than me.
“As a rival coach I’d try and unpick some of the secrets and the systems that made Sale so good. But then when I was lucky enough to step into this role at this club, I realised within a matter of hours that it wasn’t down to systems or secrets, it was down to the man. It was down to Forsh.
“He is such a special character, his character is so unique and he has an incredible ability to inspire. He’s like Peter Pan, with his self-proclaimed Robert Redford looks and he brings so much levity to every week, win or lose.
“There’s so much I’m going to miss about Forsh. I genuinely didn’t think that the trust and the atmosphere that we had in my previous role could be matched but I was very wrong. This coaching group is really, really special and Forsh has been at the epicentre of that.
“This is very bittersweet for us because although we’re going to miss him, it shows that we’re getting it right here. This comes with the territory. As much as it hurts, we all wish Forsh all the best with what is a really exciting role.”
