Centre is back in the Prem with Sale after three years in Paris where he says he learned a lot more than the language and is ready to play for England again Joe Marchant admits he has been a disappointment. Significant developments over the summer gave rise to lofty expectations among his new Sale Sharks teammates but the 30-year-old centre knows he has not lived up to them. “When we’re playing here, people expect me to be good,” he says. “Why would it make me good in any way? I’m not the best.” Marchant is, of course, referring to his football skills rather than the rugby ones and the added expectation to perform in a pre-training kick-about after former Newcastle and England captain Alan Shearer became his father-in-law over the summer. In every other department, Marchant has done nothing but impress in his new surroundings. Continue reading...
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September 17, 2026 at 11:08 AM
‘You can’t be shy’: Joe Marchant on French lessons, England ambitions and his new famous father-in-law
The Guardian Sport