Wales hooker Kelsey Jones leaves Gloucester Hartpury for Sale Sharks after eight seasons

Kelsey Jones has ended an eight-year stint at Gloucester Hartpury by joining Sale Sharks, becoming the fourth player to cross from the West Country club to Morson Stadium ahead of the 2026/27 Premiership Women’s Rugby season. The 28-year-old Wales hooker made 69 appearances and scored 25 tries for the three-time English champions during her time at Kingsholm.

Jones follows Sarah Beckett, Tatyana Heard and Zoe Stratford in making the same switch this summer, adding significant experience to a Sale squad that has been steadily building its international depth. England Red Roses pair Holly Aitchison and Amy Cokayne arrived at the club last offseason, alongside internationals from Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Since her Wales debut in 2017, Jones has accumulated 57 caps, scored seven international tries and represented her country at three Women’s Rugby World Cups. This past Six Nations she started all five of Wales’ matches and crossed for three tries.

At club level, Jones was central to Gloucester Hartpury’s run of three PWR titles in as many years, scoring the opening try in the 2023 final. Injury cost her the 2024 final and the entire 2024/25 season, but she returned strongly this year with 13 league appearances and seven tries as the club topped the regular-season table before falling to Trailfinders Women in a home semi-final.

Sale, who finished seventh last season and missed the play-offs by eight points, are clearly targeting a step up in 2026/27.

“I’ve loved coming up to play against Sale Sharks with Gloucester,” Jones said. “You can tell the team has so much grit and heart and they really fight for each other, and I wanted to be a part of that. The four of us joining from Gloucester have a lot of belief and experience winning big games. Hopefully we can add a bit of that here to get over the line in those tight games against the best teams.”

Jones also pointed to the prospect of training alongside Cokayne as a key draw. “I can’t wait to train and compete with Amy Cokayne because I really think she’s the best hooker in the world. I can learn so much from her and that challenge is only going to make me and the team better.”

Sale head coach Tom Hudson welcomed the signing. “She is a consistently top-level performer at both PWR and international level and has the ambition and drive to get even better. That’s an ambition we’re excited to help her achieve.”