Rouban Birch

Back-row forward Rouban Birch is part of the Sale Sharks setup in the English Premiership, born on 20 September 1999. A flanker in his mid-twenties, he has progressed through the senior academy system at Sale and sits among the wider group pushing for matchday selection in one of the most competitive positional battles in the squad. At openside or blindside, flankers in Birch's mould are measured on tackle volume, work rate over the ball and the hunger to make contact at every ruck. Those industrious, unglamorous traits are what coaches prize when selecting loose forwards who can compete with the Premiership's deep pool of established international back-rowers. Sale's recent seasons have centred on building a physical, hard-to-break-down team identity, and Birch's role is to contribute to that forward ethos whenever called upon. With the Premiership schedule demanding rotation through a long season, his objective is to take the opportunities that arise and establish himself as a reliable senior option in Sale's back row.