Sale v Newcastle: Teams
Sale Sharks welcome back Dwayne Peel, Mathew Tait and Jason White for their clash with Newcastle at Edgeley Park on Sunday.
Last Updated: 06/03/09 12:45pm
Sale Sharks welcome back international trio Dwayne Peel, Mathew Tait and Jason White for their clash with Newcastle at Edgeley Park on Sunday.
All three players slot into the starting line-up with Kingsley Jones' side up against an in-form side in the Falcons.
"This is a tough game for us. Newcastle are one of the form sides at the moment with four consecutive wins," said Jones.
"They have really turned their season around over the past few weeks and they are playing well. I have been forced into making changes but we have prepared well and are looking forward to the game."
Newcastle are poised to hand a debut to winger Andrew Fenby after the 23-year-old was named on the bench after being brought in from local club Blaydon, where he has set National Division Two alight with his prolific try-scoring record.
The England Counties flyer has been in training with Newcastle for the past few weeks, scoring an incredible nine tries in his last two appearances for the Falcons Development Team as well as shining at this year's Middlesex Sevens.
"Andrew is someone who has impressed me consistently over a long period of time, and with John Rudd suspended and Ollie Phillips away with the Sevens squad it gives us the ideal chance to have a look at him in the Guinness Premiership environment," said director of rugby Steve Bates.
"He has jumped over every single hurdle that has been put in front of him so far, and I guess now he is at the stage of let's see what you can do at Guinness Premiership level.
"Is Sale Sharks away on a narrow pitch the best time to throw him in? Well, we'll just have to wait and see, but he has trained with us for a good few weeks now and I'm excited about having a look at him at this standard."
Bates has made two changes to his starting XV for the clash of the northern rivals, with Tim Visser replacing the suspended John Rudd on the left wing, and fit-again lock Mark Sorenson coming in for Geoff Parling.
Sale: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Chris Bell, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Lee Thomas, 11 Oriol Ripol, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 JM Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Neil Briggs, 6 Jason White, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Stuart Turner, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Carl Fearns, 17 Rob O'Donnell, 18 Brent Cockbain, 19 David Tait, 20 Chris Leck, 21 Rudi Keil, 22 Selorm Kuadey.
Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Danny Williams, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Tom May, 9 Micky Young, 8 Adam Balding, 7 Brent Wilson, 6 Phil Dowson (captain), 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Jon Golding.
Replacements: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 Micky Ward, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Russell Winter, 20 Hall Charlton, 21 Andrew Fenby, 22 Rob Miller.