Some of English rugby union’s biggest names will be front and centre in Salford on Friday evening. Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Ben Earl and Tom Willis all start for Saracens while Tom Curry, George Ford and Luke Cowan-Dickie, among others, will trot out for Sale Sharks. Most 20-year-old props, invited to mix in such lofty company, would be feeling seriously intimidated.
It is increasingly obvious, however, that Asher Opoku-Fordjour is different gravy. As anyone who saw his eye-catching performance against Harlequins last weekend will be aware, his strength and bullocking presence with ball in hand are quite something. “If last week’s anything to go by he’s tracking well, isn’t he?” says Alex Sanderson, the Sharks’ director of rugby.
