Joe Marchant Targets England Recall After Joining Sale
Joe Marchant has joined Sale Sharks after three seasons with Paris club Stade Français, and the centre says he wants to force his way back into the England squad. Marchant won the last of his 26 caps in the third-place play-off victory over Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, starting every match at that tournament apart from the pool game against Chile.
That run of starts showed how central he had become to England’s plans before his career took him abroad. Speaking to BBC Sport, Marchant made his ambitions clear. “I want to play for England, that’s what I want to do. I’m proud to have played for England and I don’t want it to be my last time at that World Cup. I want to play again.”
His move back to the Premiership follows his final Top 14 semi-final for Stade Français, closing out a spell in one of world rugby’s toughest leagues and returning a battle-tested Test centre to English club rugby.
Borthwick Talks and Official Primary Source Details
England head coach Steve Borthwick has already spoken with Marchant about his prospects, though the centre is careful not to overstate those conversations. “Steve and I have had a couple of chats here and there. Nothing crazy, but just a couple of chats,” Marchant said.
Borthwick has told both Marchant and Northampton forward Courtney Lawes that they must prove their form in the Premiership before either can be considered for a recall. No promise of selection has been made, and Marchant’s route back to the England squad depends entirely on how he performs for Sale week to week.
Marchant’s return to English rugby also revives conversations that shaped his exit in the first place. He recalled discussions with then-England coach Eddie Jones ahead of the 2022 Autumn Internationals: “There were those conversations just before the Autumn Internationals [in 2022] that I wasn’t fitting the mould and I wasn’t going to play in the World Cup.”
Those exchanges pushed Marchant towards Stade Français, a move that ultimately delivered regular rugby and a World Cup recall in 2023 despite Jones’s early assessment. His full account of the switch and its England implications features in his interview with BBC Sport.
Sale Squad Impact After Stade Français Stint
Marchant’s three years in Paris have left their mark away from the pitch as well as on it. He admitted to slipping into French habits during his early sessions with Sale. “I’ve had a couple of near slip-ups, which I didn’t tell any of the lads, where I’m just saying the things you’d say there,” he said.
One habit in particular needed correcting on the training paddock. “For a high ball in France, you’d say ‘j’ai’, meaning ‘I have’. So I have had to style that out and turn it into ‘Joe’s’.”
The centre also reflected on the abrupt switch from international duty to club life in France once the 2023 World Cup finished. “It was a bit of a strange one, everyone was going home and for me Paris was my new home,” he said.
For Sale, Marchant adds proven Premiership and Test-level experience to their midfield options, arriving with the kind of pedigree few clubs can call on outside a World Cup year. His domestic reintroduction also comes as supporters track Lawes’ prospective international return, with both players facing the same instruction from Borthwick to earn selection through consistent form rather than reputation.
Away from rugby, Marchant’s family ties run deep in English sport. His wife Hollie is the daughter of former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer, adding another layer of interest to his return to English rugby’s spotlight.
Upcoming Sale Opener Against Bristol on 26 September
Sale begin their domestic campaign at home against Bristol on Saturday, 26 September. The fixture gives Marchant his first opportunity to press his case for a recall in front of home supporters, and by extension, in front of Borthwick’s watching eyes.
Nothing has been promised beyond that instruction to perform, and Borthwick has stopped short of setting any timeline for a decision on a recall. For Marchant, though, the message from his interview with BBC Sport is straightforward. Consistent form in Sale colours is now the only route back to an England shirt he clearly still wants, and the visit of Bristol offers the first proof point of that campaign.
Sale supporters will watch closely to see how quickly Marchant settles back into Premiership rugby after three years away, while England fans will be doing the same for very different reasons.
