World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset expressed his excitement on Manchester’s role in next year’s championship, which will be hosted in June at Sale Sharks’ AJ Bell stadium alongside Manchester City’s Academy stadium.

Sale Sharks trio Josh Beaumont, Will Addison and Mike Haley cannot wait to start training alongside legendary Irish scrum-half Peter Stringer and former All Blacks lock Bryn Evans when players return from a lengthy post-season break at the end of June.

The ‘Find a Flag’ competition takes place in the city tomorrow, from 9am-9pm, and hopefuls must upload a ‘flag selfie’, to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using #EmiratesFlag after former England and Sale Sharks player Mark Cueto has hidden it.

One lucky 14-16 year-old will lead the teams out at a Rugby World Cup fixture in Manchester, experiencing first-hand the atmosphere and what it’s like to be a professional rugby player.

Premiership player of year George Ford and Owen Farrell – a British & Irish Lion and still just 23 – will go head-to-head in pursuit of the fly-half starting berth at this year’s World Cup with Danny Cipriani waiting in the wings.

Lymm will be taking part in the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Parade of Champions during half-time of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final on May 30, having secured their spot at a Sale Sharks festival on October 19.

While Mark Cueto’s Sale Sharks career has come to an end, Tom Brady’s is only just taking off at the AJ Bell Stadium and so far he has backed up his five tries in 26 appearances last season with four scores this term.

England and Sale Sharks veteran Mark Cueto has now hung up his boots after Sale’s final match of the season away at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

Mourners in Wigan are coming together to help raise money in the memory of a 13-year-old rugby prodigy who tragically downed in a quarry.

The Rugby World Cup Trophy is visiting Manchester for three days, July 25-27, before Albert Square hosts one of the Official Fanzones from October 9-11.

Sale remain in seventh and nine points of the semi-final places after failing to claim even a losing bonus point in Round 17 in their 12-3 loss to Bath.