Sale Sharks Prepare for Top-of-the-Table Clash Against Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks Director of Rugby, Alex Sanderson, has made just one change to his team ahead of their top-of-the-table clash against Leicester Tigers on Friday night. The Sharks will welcome back British and Irish Lions lock Jonny Hill to the starting XV, as they look to secure a crucial win against their closest rivals in the Gallagher Premiership.
According to Sale Sharks, the team is expecting a tough challenge at Mattioli Woods Welford Road against an in-form Tigers team, who sit one place above Sale in the table. Alex Sanderson believes that if his side has aspirations of a top-two finish and a home semi-final, Friday’s game is a must-win.
"We’re one of those teams [with aspirations of a home semi-final]," Sanderson said, as quoted by Sale Sharks. "Leicester have a really strong set-piece and a great defence and their efficiency when they get down into the opposition’s 22 is what’s blown some of the scoreboards out. They’re aggressive at the breakdown and we know that if we don’t make all our shots count, we could find ourselves on a hiding to nothing."
The Sharks have found some form in recent weeks, but Sanderson is eager to see his team bring it all together and perform at their best. "We’ve found some form and I feel like we’re playing better rugby than this time last year, but we don’t feel like we’ve made it because we want to continue to get better," he said, as reported by Sale Sharks. "Our set-piece against Toulouse was as good as it can be, I was really happy with our defence against Saracens and our attack against Quins was really good, but if we want to get a home semi and maybe win something, we need to bring it together and that’s what we’re striving for."
The Sharks team for Friday’s match sees Jonny Hill return to partner Ben Bamber in the second-row, while the front-row remains unchanged with hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie starting between fellow England front-row stars Bevan Rodd and Asher Opoku-Fordjour. The backs are also unchanged, with Gus Warr and George Ford combining once again at half-back and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Rob du Preez outside them in the centres.
Sale Sharks Starting XV:
- Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez (c), 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Tom Curry, 8. JL du Preez.
The Sharks have a strong bench to call upon, with Si McIntyre, Wales prop WillGriff John, and hooker Tadgh McElroy providing front-row options, while Hyron Andrews, Ben Curry, and Dan du Preez offer back-row and forward depth. England scrum-half Raffi Quirke and Tom O’Flaherty are the backs replacements.
The match against Leicester Tigers promises to be a closely contested affair, with both teams boasting impressive statistics. According to Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers’ Adam Radwan scored his first Premiership hat-trick against Quins in Round 15, while Julian Montoya has thrown into 131 lineouts this season, winning 121 with a 92.4% success rate.
The Sharks will be looking to build on their recent performances, with Ernst Van Rhyn and Ben Bamber completing 18 tackles in Round 15 – the joint-most. Reketi Maasi-White led the league in the last round with four dominant tackles, while Joe Carpenter became the first player this season to carry over 1,000 metres (1,001 metres).
The referee for Friday’s match is Matthew Carley, with Joe James and Wayne Falla acting as assistant referees. Dean Richards will be in charge of the TMO.
In related news, Sale Sharks will be looking to secure a crucial win against their closest rivals in the Gallagher Premiership. The match against Leicester Tigers is expected to be a closely contested affair, with both teams vying for a top-two finish and a home semi-final.
With this match being a must-win for Sale Sharks, the team will need to be at their best to secure the win. As reported by Sale Sharks, Alex Sanderson is confident that his team can perform at their best and secure the win against Leicester Tigers.
