Arron Reed marks 100 Sharks appearances with a return to the starting XV, while Sam Dugdale replaces the injured Ernst van Rhyn (ankle) as Alex Sanderson makes two changes to his side from the Premiership win against Exeter to face Harlequins on Sunday at the Salford Stadium (KO 3pm, live on TNT Sports).
WillGriff John features on the replacements bench for the first time since re-signing for the club on a short-term deal and he’s joined by Raffi Quirke, who will make his 50th Sharks appearance.
Alex has picked a mix of youth and experience in the front-row to face Quins, with homegrown pair Bevan Rodd and James Harper packing down either side of England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie.
In the second-row, Cobus Wiese and Josh Beaumont return to resume their partnership, while in the back-row Dugdale and captain Ben Curry team up once again with JL du Preez at number 8.
Gus Warr and George Ford are back together at half-back after missing the defeat in Bridgend and they’ll have Manu Tuilagi and Rob du Preez outside them in the centres.
Wingers Reed and Tom Roebuck, and full-back Joe Carpenter make up the rest of the XV.
On the replacements bench, hooker Tommy Taylor is joined by props Si McIntyre and John. Ben Bamber and Hyron Andrews make up the rest of the forwards replacements, while Quirke, Sam James and Tom O’Flaherty cover the backs.
Speaking in his pre-match briefing, the Sharks Director of Rugby said he’s expecting a big test from a Quins team who have developed their style this season.
He said: “There are elements of their game which are consistent, like their fast breaks and their ability to score from anywhere. You switch off and you’re dead.
“But they’ve added to that. In the last couple of weeks their set piece has been a real weapon, the scrum has been a way of getting dominance and field position, and they’ve used their maul to close games out.
“These aren’t things synonymous with Quins but it shows how multi-faceted they are. We know they won’t lie down. They’ll keep on coming, they’ll keep on backing themselves, and we need to be ready to meet that challenge.
“I’m confident we’ll perform well this weekend. The lads are training well, they’re talking well, and that usually leads to a good performance.”
Sale Sharks Starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. James Harper, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Josh Beaumont, 6. Ben Curry ©, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. JL du Preez.
Replacements:
16. Tommy Taylor, 17. Si McIntyre, 18. WillGriff John, 19. Ben Bamber, 20. Hyron Andrews, 21. Raffi Quirke, 22. Sam James, 23. Tom O’Flaherty.
- Sale Sharks’ 41-5 victory at home to Exeter in Round 14 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby ended a four-game losing run in the competition. Tom Roebuck was the only player to score three tries in Round 14. Dugdale was the only player to win three turnovers in Round 14. He also made two clean breaks.
- Sharks’ only defeat at Salford Stadium in Premiership Rugby since October 2022 was 14-22 against Bristol on 5 January.
- Harlequins’ last ten matches in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have been evenly split with five wins and five defeats.
- The Londoners have won six of their last nine away games in all competitions.
- Harlequins beat Sale 36-3 at the Twickenham Stoop in Round 8 and have not completed a Premiership Rugby double over the Northerners since 2013/14.
- Sale have lost only one of their last ten encounters with Harlequins at Salford in all competitions: 13-29 in Premiership Rugby in October 2022.
