Sale Sharks: Mike Forshaw and Paul Deacon sign new four-year deals

Sale coach Paul Deacon was part of four Grand Final winning teams as a rugby league player - three with Bradford and one with Wigan

Sale coaches Mike Forshaw and Paul Deacon have both signed four-year deals to remain as part of director of rugby Steve Diamond's backroom team.

Former Bradford Bulls and Great Britain international scrum-half Deacon, 37, joined Sale from Wigan in July 2015.

Fellow rugby league convert Forshaw, 46, also from Wigan and a former Bradford team-mate of Deacon's, arrived in 2013 from Connacht as defence coach.

He took on extra duties when Bryan Redpath moved to Yorkshire Carnegie.

"After the recent takeover from Simon Orange and Ged Mason, the most important thing was to secure the current young talent in the squad on three/four-year contacts and to extend the coaching contracts of Paul and Mike," said Diamond.

"Since Mike and Paul have arrived at Sale, they have expanded our game which is often in the top half of the league defensively and offensively. Under the ownership and selective recruitment, the team will go from strength to strength."

Sale are fifth in the Premiership following Saturday's narrow win over Leicester.