Sale Sharks owner Simon Orange says he will back director of rugby Alex Sanderson “to go out and sign whoever he wants”.
Orange recently became one of the world’s richest rugby club owners after selling a majority stake in his investment firm, CorpAcq, to TDR Capital in a deal worth well over £1-billion (R22.8-billion).
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, Orange plans to invest a chunk of it into the Premiership club, where his wife works.
Sale currently have eight South Africans on their books – including the three Du Preez brothers – and could now target some more Springboks.
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“It would be great for the league to bring in a load of A-listers but we’ve already lost three clubs and we’re trying to make the league commercially viable,” Orange told the Daily Mail. “We can’t push it too much but personally I wouldn’t mind if we could have two marquee players instead of one.
“That would just put the wages up for everyone so it’s not good for the league commercially, although it might help to get more fans engaged.
“It’s a difficult one to answer but first and foremost is protecting the league and keeping it going. It survives mainly on the generosity of the owners but that is not a good long-term strategy.
“As for Sale and the playing squad, we would absolutely back Alex to go out and sign whoever he wants. We can’t at the minute because we’ve already got [England flyhalf] George Ford as our marquee player.
“But if George Ford moved on, which he might eventually, then I would say to Alex ‘Go and get whoever you want, whoever is best for the club’.”
Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images for Sale Sharks
