Alex Sanderson gives further insight into Nathan Jibulu bite and ban

The moment came in the 69th minute of Sale’s Champions Cup last-16 victory over Quins at the Twickenham Stoop a couple of weeks ago.

It marked Jibulu’s first return to The Stoop, and to the club where he progressed through the academy, since leaving for Manchester in the summer.

Still only 23, Jibulu has already represented England A. In November 2025, he made his debut for the side, starting in a win over Spain.

His suspension, combined with an injury to Luke Cowan-Dickie in the same game, forced Sale to rely on third and fourth-choice hookers Ethan Caine and Alfie Longstaff for their Champions Cup quarter-final against Leinster, which they went on to lose in Dublin.

While not excusing Jibulu’s behaviour, something the player admitted responsibility for, Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson indicated there may have been underlying factors behind the incident.

"He's not had the easiest times off the field, that's for personal reasons that I won't go into, he's going back to his old club where he thought he'd be welcomed with respect and he wasn't and on the back of all of that, he's lost his head and reacted in the manner that none of us condone.

"But, there's always contributing factors to it, he is one of the most down to earth, brilliant characters that I've met, we're really fortunate to have him in our books.

"You'll never see an incident like that happen again from him.

"It's just one of those things that's going to shape him and shape the player he's going to be moving forward. He's a great player, a great person."