Almost everywhere you look at Sale Sharks, there are reminders about the club’s pride at being a geographical outlier in the Premiership. Even the kits Sale’s players will wear in Saturday’s semi-final showdown with Bath feature nods to the northern amateur clubs where some of their homegrown stars made their first steps in rugby.
Emulating Sale’s class of 2006 – the only time in their history they have been crowned champions of England – and bringing the Premiership title back north in the next fortnight could open the door to a whole new generation of rugby fans in an area traditionally dominated by other sports.
