Newcastle v Sale: Teams
Euan Murray will make his Newcastle debut when the Falcons host fellow Aviva Premiership strugglers Sale on Friday.
Last Updated: 07/01/11 3:39pm
Euan Murray will make his Newcastle debut when the Falcons host fellow Aviva Premiership strugglers Sale on Friday.
The former Northampton prop comes in as one of three changes to the side that suffered a 33-16 defeat to Wasps last time out.
Charlie Amesbury returns on the wing after recovering from a serious eye injury while Gcobani Bobo moves into the centres and Luke Eves drops to the bench.
Brent Wilson comes in to replace Redford Pennycook at flanker while prop Jon Golding could make his return off the bench after a long spell out with an Achilles problem.
"We've been boosted by Jonny Golding this week," Falcons head coach Alan Tait said.
"He will take a place on the bench, and Andrew Van der Heijden has also been doing contact work with the boys this week.
Quality
"The Sale game has just come a bit quick for him, but what a difference it makes to see quality like that on the training field.
"Euan Murray's debut is another thing to look forward to, and this is a game that I've been waiting for all season."
Sale boss Pete Anglesea has made two changes to his starting XV after a confidence-boosting win over Saracens last Sunday.
Mark Cueto and Rhys Crane are both unavailable so Paul Williams switches to the wing alongside Mathew Tait while Nick Macloed comes in at full-back.
Anglesea said: "Sunday's win over Saracens was a good performance and we are now looking to build on that.
"I have been able to name the same pack for the game with the same replacements in the forwards too. It's a fast turn around but we have trained well, the team spirit is excellent and players are walking around with smiles on their faces."
Newcastle: 15 Jeremy Manning, 14 Luke Fielden, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Charlie Amesbury, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Micky Young, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch, 6 Brent Wilson, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 James Hudson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Matt Thompson, 1 Grant Shiells.
Replacements: 16 Joe Graham, 17 Jonny Golding, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Filipo Levi, 20 Redford Pennycook, 21 Jason Spice, 22 Luke Eves, 23 Danny Williams.
Sale Sharks: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Paul Williams, 13 Chris Bell, 12 Kyle Tonetti, 11 Mathew Tait, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 James Gaskell (capt), 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Chris Jones, 3 Karena Wihongi, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Ben Roberts, 17 Lee Imiolek, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Sean Cox, 20 Neil McMillan, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Iain Thornley.