Sale boss hits out at Sharks owner’s ‘disrespect’ as grudge match develops following social media spat
Sharks owner Marco Masotti.
Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has claimed that they are not respected by Sharks owner Marco Masotti, who has regularly sent digs their way.
The two teams will go head-to-head for the first time this weekend when the South African outfit visits Salford in the Investec Champions Cup.
They are of course namesakes and Masotti has, usually in a light-hearted way, urged the English outfit to rebrand as ‘Sale Tuna’ over the years.
Owners spat
His most recent jibe came on New Year’s Eve as the Sharks owner revealed his hopes for 2026 on X, formerly Twitter, with his third one being: “May @SaleSharksRugby finally rebrand as the Sale Tuna. A tuna is a fierce fish. Let us unite behind the Tuna!”
A few days later, and with the sides set to face-off this weekend, Sale co-owner Michelle Orange responded: “And I hope that @MarcoMasotti has the good grace to attend the match in Salford on Saturday so he can say that to @SaleSharksRugby face!”
Masotti confirmed that he would be there, signing off with, “Good luck to the Sale Tuna”, to which Orange replied: “Genuinely can’t wait to finally meet you & show you some proper Northern hospitality. We’ll serve up some gravy to go with that chip on your shoulder.”
Sanderson is therefore using the Sharks owner’s comments as added motivation for his side as they look to win their second game of this season’s Champions Cup.
“We’ll lean into that. Do they respect us as an organisation? Questionable, certainly not from the top,” he told reporters.
“I will have that in the back pocket, those lads who are on social media might want bragging rights. You’ve got to find something every week that pushes the buttons. There’s enough there for us this week.”
Neither Sharks team has enjoyed a particularly fruitful campaign, with Sale losing six of the nine PREM games in 2025/26 and the South African outfit down in 14th in the United Rugby Championship table.
Still, a grudge match has developed thanks to Masotti’s comments with the winner of Saturday’s clash claiming the Sharks’ bragging rights.
‘Maybe we should rebrand as Manchester Megalodons’
“Michelle said, tongue in cheek, maybe we should rebrand as Manchester Megalodons,” Sanderson said.
“Funnily enough, my mum’s coming to watch on Saturday and she’s not well. Three years ago she gave me a fossilised megalodon tooth, so I could remind myself, when she’s not around to nag me, of the kind of shark I want to be.
“Be the biggest shark, be the angriest shark, be the most aggressive shark, day to day. I’m probably going to talk about that to the lads.
“I want to show her that I can be this person, this coach that she wants me to be. There’s always personal reasons for you to be motivated.”
The visitors are stacked with Springboks but that talent has not been matched by results and Sale will be confident of overcoming their namesakes.
JP Pietersen’s men also have to contend with the travel factor and the very different conditions they face after flying from Durban.
“We’ve been theming it up like that, who is going to be the bigger, better, more aggressive Shark. Minus three conditions at the CorpAcq Stadium, they’re flying in from 25 degrees in Durban,” Sanderson added.
“It is going to have to be a quick acclimatisation for them. The CorpAcq at night in midwinter helps us against anyone. It’s not a nice place to come and we want to keep it that way.”
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