Sale Sharks change 5 for Bath showdown
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Alex Sanderson has made five changes to his Sharks side following last weekend’s derby defeat at Newcastle with internationals Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Gus Warr and Alex Lozowski all returning to the XV for the trip to Bath (KO 3.05, Saturday 31st October, LIVE on TNT Sports).
Nathan Jibulu and Tom O’Flaherty also return to the side while Ben and Tom Curry will start again together at the Rec in an unchanged back-row with Christ Tshiunza. Courtney Lawes misses out through illness.
Speaking ahead of the game, the Sharks Director of Rugby said he was expecting a reaction from a Bath team who suffered defeat at Gloucester in round four – but he called on his side to prove they were “hurting more”.
“I’m sure they (Bath) feel very similar to how we’re feeling,” he said. “We’re hurting and we’re frustrated to the point of anger, and hurting because we haven’t matched up to our expectations.
“I’m sure Bath are in a very similar mental frame. So the question is, “who’s hurting more?” That’s the question I’ve posed to the lads and that’s the emotional response we’re chasing this weekend.”
In the team picked to deliver that response, Alex has made two changes to his front row with Jibulu replacing Cowan-Dickie at hooker and Opoku-Fordjour coming in at tighthead alongside loosehead Nicky Smith.
The rest of the pack is unchanged with skipper Ernst van Rhyn teaming up with Ben Bamber again in the second row and Christ Tshiunza starting in the number six shirt with Ben Curry, who is playing his 198th Sharks game, at seven and brother Tom at eight.
Gus Warr returns after missing last weekend with a minor calf strain, and he will start with George Ford at half-back. They’ll have Lozowski and Joe Marchant outside them in the centres.
In the back three, winger O’Flaherty starts after missing the Newcastle defeat with Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter.
Alex has plenty of power and energy to call upon from the bench with Cowan-Dickie, Si McIntyre and Tomas Francis the front row replacements.
Lock Tom Burrow and back rowers Sam Dugdale and Elia Canakaivata are the other forwards on the bench with Dom Hanson and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White making up the rest of the replacements.
Starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter
14. Tom Roebuck
13. Joe Marchant
12. Alex Lozowski
11. Tom O’Flaherty
10. George Ford
9. Gus Warr;
1. Nicky Smith
2. Nathan Jibulu
3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour
4. Ernst van Rhyn (c)
5. Ben Bamber
6. Christ Tshiunza
7. Ben Curry
8. Tom Curry
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Si McIntyre
18. Tomas Francis
19. Tom Burrow
20. Sam Dugdale
21. Dom Hanson
22. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White
23. Elia Canakaivata
Unavailable for selection:
Luke James (hamstring)
Xavier Roe (flown home)
Jacques Vermeulen (suspension)
Bevan Rodd (wrist)
Courtney Lawes (illness)
