Brent Cockbain has fallen out of favour at the Ospreys

The 33-year-old, who has won 24 Wales caps, joins the Guinness Premiership side on a two-and-a-half year deal.

Sale head coach Kingsley Jones confirmed the deal to BBC Wales' Scrum V programme on Sunday.

"Brent is suited to the Premiership," Jones said. "He's big, tough, resilient - we need people like that in our team and I'm sure he'll bring an edge."

Cockbain, who joined the Ospreys from the Celtic Warriors in 2004, was keen to join Sale last summer but had a transfer request turned down.

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The 6ft 8in Australian-born second rower was left out of Wales' squad for the World Cup, with three locks who did make it - Ian Evans, Alun Wyn Jones and Ian Gough - all on the Ospreys' books.

Cockbain played for the Barbarians in Saturday's 22-5 win over South Africa at Twickenham and signalled his split from the Ospreys by wearing socks in the colours of former team Pontypridd.

Players invited to play for the Baa-Baas wear the famous black and white striped jersey but wear the socks of their domestic regional or club side.

But Cockbain will now be donning the colours of Sale in the Premiership, with Jones delighted to strengthen their options in the second row.

"We've got Dean Schofield in that role at the moment, who is very good for us, we've also got the Argentinean Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe but obviously he's an overseas player," Jones added.

"So if we did have an injury to Schofield we've got no one to push into that middle row there of that type of stature - a big, strong, pain-in-the-backside sort of lock that Brent is.

"He's the type of guy that you don't want to play against and after the game everyone complains about him!"