Loosehead prop Paul Smith joined the Sharks Colts team at the age of 18 and played more than 150 games for Sale and then Sale Sharks between 1988 and 2000, many alongside twin brother and fellow prop Andrew.  

He joined the club staff after injury forced him to retire, and took up a key role in the club’s finance team, before a chance convcersation with then Director of Rugby Philippe Saint-Andre led to him becoming Team Manager. 

He moved on to become the club’s Operations Manager, then Operations Director and was appointed CEO in 2024. 

Paul has dedicated his life to the club and we are delighted to make him our first Sharks Hall of Fame inductee. 

Former hooker Steve Diamond was synonymous with Sale Sharks for well over 40 years, serving the club as both a player with more than 350 first team appearances, and as director of rugby.  

A true one-club man, Diamond played for the club for eleven years before returning in 2001, alongside Jim Mallinder, to coach the team. Stints with England Saxons, Saracens and the Russian national team followed before the ever-popular ‘Dimes’ returned to Sale in 2011, taking over from the departing Mike Brewer.

In December 2020, fans’ favourite Steve announced that he would leave Sale Sharks for personal reasons. He went on to coach Worcester Warriors and Newcastle Falcons, but he remains a huge part of our history and we’re thrilled to make him the second Hall of Fame inductee. 

Winger Steve Hanley started his rugby life playing for Cumbrian side Aspatria but his career took off after he played in the old Fourth Division and represented England in every age group all in the space of six months. 

He signed a professional deal with Sale in the 1998/99 season and it wasn’t long before he got his opportunity – away to Leicester – when winger Tom Beim hurt his shoulder in training. He impressed in the newly-named Sharks first team and was called into Clive Woodward’s England squad for the final Five Nations tournament in 1999. 

Steve played just once during the tournament, in England’s final game against Wales at Wembley. He scored a debut try but England were beaten with a last-minute Scott Gibbs score. 

It was to be Steve’s only international appearance but on the domestic front, he went from strength to strength. After spending ten years as a Shark, he retired at the age of 29 as the league’s record try scorer. In total he scored 104 tries for the club, with 75 coming in the Premiership. 

Our fourth Hall of Famer completes the legends front-row. Prop Ross Harrison joined Sale Sharks in 2011 and by the end of his first season his performances had earned him the Sharks’ Young Player of the Year award.  

He was called up to the England Saxons squad in January 2015 and made his 100th appearance for the Sharks against Harlequins on November 6, 2015.  

Ross’s club form was rewarded with a call-up to the England squad to play the Barbarians in a non-cap game in summer 2014. He toured South Africa with England Saxons the following year before being invited by Eddie Jones to a training camp for the senior England squad in May 2017.  

 At Sharks, he has an impressive track record, having surpassed 200 club appearances in January 2019 when he was just 26 years old. He’s hoping to hit the magic 300 during the 24/25 season. 

Hailing from Manchester, Dean Schofield is widely recognised as a true hardman of the professional era and one of the finest forwards of his generation.  

Dean started his rugby journey at Aldwinians but made his breakthrough when he signed for Sharks from Wakefield in 2001. 

Comfortable operating in both the second-row and the back-row, he went on to play 162 times for Sale and was part of the squad that won the European Challenge Cup in 2005 and the Premiership in 2006. 

Dean played twice for England on their 2007 summer Tour of South Africa and in 2010 was described by rugby journalist Stephen Jones as one of the ‘locks of the decade’ behind only England stalwart Simon Shaw in his estimation. 

Dean was appointed Sharks captain in 2010 but left the club at the end of that season. He played for Toulon, Worcester, London Welsh and Yorkshire Carnegie before hanging up his boots. 

Our first centre in the hall of fame is one of the most talented players ever to pull on a s Sharks shirt. Jos Baxendell fell in love with rugby as a pupil at King’s in Macclesfield and after completing his schooling, went on to Sheffield Polytechnic, and it was during his time there that a friend introduced him to Sale Sharks. 

He joined the club in 1993, made his debut against Otley in January 1994 and went on to play more than 200 games over the next 11 years. 

His prowess in the 13 shirt led to him being picked for England and he toured the southern hemisphere in 1998 in what would become known as the ‘tour of hell’. He picked up two caps, against New Zealand and South Africa, but that would be his only involvement with the national side. 

He was made Sharks captain before he retired following the Challenge Cup victory over Pau in 2005. Jos returned to the club in 2010 as backs coach. 

Joining Jos Baxendell in what would be a sensational Hall of Fame centre partnership is a boyhood Sharks fan who left the Salford Stadium in the summer of 2024 after playing 244 games for the club and scoring almost 200 points. 

Sam James joined Sale in 2012, seven years after being a ballboy at Edgeley Park. He made his debut a year later and went on to become a cornerstone of the team, on and off the field, for 12 years. 

Usually deployed at centre, but equally happy at fly-half or full-back, Sam’s silky skills and kicking game made him a fans’ favourite. 

And although he never achieved full international honours, his value to Sale Sharks was summed up by Alex Sanderson when his departure was announced. Al said Sam “is and will probably always be, the heartbeat of this club.” 

Joining Steve Hanley in our legends back-three is a Cumbrian native who is the very the definition of a one-club man.  

A keen footballer as a child, Mark Cueto worked his way through the Sharks academy before making his professional debut for the club against Bristol in 2001. He went on to make 294 appearances, scoring 118 tries in all competitions and when he retired in 2015, his 87 Premiership tries put him, at the time, at the top of the league’s all time top scorers list. 

On the international scene, Mark made his England debut in 2004 and went on to score 20 tries in 55 caps. He also played for the British and Irish Lions in the 2005 tour of New Zealand. 

Mark’s huge impact on Sale Sharks wasn’t limited to on the field. Off the field he spent time as the club’s Commercial Director and currently hosts hospitality guests on matchdays as part of the commercial team. 

The first member of our Hall of Fame back-row is the first inductee not to come through the Sharks Academy. 

Flanker Dave Seymour joined Sharks from Saracens in 2009 and went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club, scoring 19 tries, before retiring from professional rugby in 2018. 

He was appointed club captain in 2012 and became known for his ability to lead by example on and off the field. 

A former England U21 international, Dave also helped England to a silver medal in rugby sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. 

After leaving Sharks, Dave joined Sale FC Rugby for the 2018/19 season playing 26 league games and captaining the side to win the Cheshire Cup against Chester RUFC in April 2019. 

Joining Dave Seymour in the back row is our Hall of Fame number 8 and another former Sharks captain. 

Jono Ross joined Sale in 2017 and went on to play more than 150 game for the club, leading the team to the Premiership final in his last game as a Shark in 2023. 

Jono signed for Sale from Stade Francais, and quickly established himself as a firm favourite amongst the Sharks faithful through sheer endeavour, grit and determination for success on the pitch. 

He was subsequently awarded the club captaincy in 2018, thanks to his natural leadership capabilities, holding the position for five seasons.  

Jono’s career started with the Blue Bulls in 2011. He had a brief stint in Europe with Saracens at the end of that season before returning to Pretoria for another year.  

In 2014, Jono left the Bulls and moved North to take up a contract with Stade Francais. He spent three years in the French capital where he would go on to win the European Challenge Cup and Top 14 in the famous pink jersey.  

Following his success in Paris, Ross made a switch to the UK where he would establish himself as one of the most imposing players in the Gallagher Premiership, topping the Premiership tackle count for three consecutive seasons as a Shark. 

Filling the scrum-half slot in our Hall of Fame XV is the Golden Unicorn himself, the talismanic Faf de Klerk. 

Faf joined Sharks from the Golden Lions ahead of the 2017/2018 Gallagher Premiership season and went on to make more than 100 appearances for the club in five seasons, before departing for Japan and the Yokohama Canon Eagles in 2022. 

His time in Manchester might have been short, but the double World Cup winner made quite an impression. Leading from the front with his trademark blonde locks, Faf quickly became a fans’ favourite with his all-action performances and deadly left foot. He led Sale to a first play-off appearance in 15 years in 2020/21 and during his time at the club, he played a key role in South Africa’s third World Cup win, in 2019. 

After his final Sharks performance – a 42-19 home win over Bristol – Faf said the club “put me on the map.” Others may have played more games, but few left such a footprint! 

Filling the last slot in our Hall of Fame back row is a man who has played more than 150 games for Sale, captained the side and had a spell as Head Coach. 

Pete Anglesea – or ‘Big Red’ as he became affectionately known – joined the club in 1999 after spells at Aspull, Orrell and Bedford Blues. Equally at home at number 6 or 8, Pete quickly nailed down a starting spot and he was part of the team that ran out for Sharks’ first game under the club’s new name in 1999. 

Pete’s Sharks form caught the eye of the international selectors and he was part of the England A Churchill Cup team that toured Canada in 2003 and then captained the England XV to Japan in the same year. He also toured with the full England Squad in a successful tour to Argentina in 2002. 

Anglesea’s club highlight is probably his Man of the Match performance in Sale’s Parker Pen European Shield final win over Pontypridd in 2002, which was the first time the club had won a major trophy. He was selected as club captain for the 2003/04 season and was a member of Sale’s Premiership winning squad in 2005-06, before injury forced his retirement the following season. 

After retiring, Pete took up a position on the club’s coaching staff, filling in as Head Coach after the departure of Mike Brewer in 2010.