Sale teams up with TV star Craig Doyle and Lions legend Brian O’Driscoll to crack Netflix

Sale hopes to be the first Premiership club to break into the streaming market and make it big in the US by filming a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Rugby hopes to follow in the footsteps of soccer and Formula 1 by boosting its appeal through the production of fly-on-the-wall series. Sportsmail announced last month that filming on a documentary about the Six Nations will begin later this year, aiming to emulate the success of F1 with Drive to Survive.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and driver George Russell have been telling rugby bosses the benefits of F1 stories being shown on Netflix and the Six Nations will soon confirm their own partnership with the streaming giant.

Sale hopes to be the first Premiership club to break into the Netflix market with documentaries

A similar strategy is being pursued at club level, with Sale taking the lead. Alex Sanderson’s Sharks have been collecting footage of life at the club for two years and are hoping this will lead to Netflix or Amazon commissioning a documentary. Sale also looks at the American channels HBO and NBC for his series.

Sale chief executive Sid Sutton told Sportsmail: “We need to do better promoting rugby and market it in bold, innovative ways. We need to humanize players to make them stand out more.

“I believe you can promote your stars and do it in a humble way. What better opportunity to do this than with fly-on-the-wall documentation? It’s not just rugby, it’s also the human side and how players risk their lives on the pitch.

Former Ireland and Lions star Brian O’Driscoll is co-producing the series

Craig Doyle (above), BT Sport rugby presenter and This Morning presenter, is also involved in the project

“Rugby is a fantastic game and there are really good people playing it. They can be the ones who bring rugby to a wider audience.”

Filming at Sale is being managed by 3 Rock Productions, a company owned by BT Sport rugby presenter Craig Doyle and former Ireland and Lions star Brian O’Driscoll.

The company produces ITV’s Premiership highlights show and has created the documentaries Shoulder to Shoulder and After the Roar for BT Sport.

Doyle told Sportsmail: “If you want to sell rugby, why not sell the biggest domestic league in the world? This is the Gallagher Premier League. Rugby is incredibly good and there are fascinating stories that are as dramatic as the sport. We want to tell the story of the league through one of its most interesting clubs.”

The Netflix series Six Nations is expected to be popular and Rugby found success with Prep to Win: Harlequins, which followed the Premiership champions of the time. Northampton has also produced four films covering their run to last season’s playoffs, their preseason fitness challenge and their game against the Barbarians.

Sutton added: “Rugby needs education on the importance of promoting the game through the media. We have a responsibility to do that.’

Champions are France will be featured in a behind-the-scenes series of Six Nations on Netflix

The Drive To Survive series first aired in 2019 and saw a significant surge in F1 popularity