Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

) is an English former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

and

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

. He is the brother of

Pat Sanderson Pat Sanderson (born 6 September 1977 in Chester) is a former England national rugby union team, England international rugby union player and a former Flanker (rugby union), flanker for Worcester Warriors, Worcester. He is the brother of the fo ...

who also played rugby for Littleborough RUFC. He is currently Director of Rugby at

. 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. He made his Six Nations debut as a replacement against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 name is ...

, playing in the pre-

warm-up matches against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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-1970s-stub