Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in Chester) is an English former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for Saracens and Sale Sharks. He is the brother of Pat Sanderson who also played rugby for Littleborough RUFC. He is currently Director of Rugby at Sale Sharks. His rugby career blossomed under coach Brian Gornall at Kirkham Grammar School. His first Sale coach, John Mitchell, also had a great influence on him as did Steve Diamond and Jim Mallinder, both of whom he played alongside when he broke into the first team. He scored a try on his

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

debut after coming on as a replacement against Romania in November 2001, having captained the

midweek side in North America soon after being selected for the England XV against the Barbarians at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. He made his Six Nations debut as a replacement against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in March 2003 and was part of the wider 43-man squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, playing in the pre-

warm-up matches against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in Marseille. He was forced to retire from rugby in 2005 due to a back injury. After a 17-year association with Saracens it was announced in January 2021 that Sanderson had been appointed Sale Sharks' Director of Rugby.

International tries

References

External links

Information for Alex SandersonScrum.com player statistics
1979 births Living people England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Kirkham Grammar School Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Chester Sale Sharks players Saracens F.C. players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub