Sale Sharks have been boosted by the return of British and Irish Lions tourist Luke Cowan-Dickie for their clash against Newcastle Red Bulls, but will be without England international Ben Curry.
The back-rower, who featured on England’s summer tour of the Americas, has been having problems with an ongoing hamstring issue, and faces a major surgery dilemma as a result.
Both sides come into this weekend’s Northern derby off the back of a defeat and will be hoping for a better outcome this weekend.
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The international pair are among four changes to the Sale 23-man squad from their defeat to Bath last weekend, with Cowan-Dickie coming in for Nathan Jibulu in the starting XV, while Curry is replaced by academy graduate Tristan Woodman. James Harper also comes into the 23 in place of the suspended WillGriff John, while Raffi Quirke also makes the squad for the first time this year, with Dom Hanson dropping out.
Sale boast an all-international back-three this weekend, with Joe Carpenter and Tom Roebuck joined by Scotland international Arron Reed in the starting XV for the first time this year. Outgoing back Rob du Preez, who will join Bayonne at the end of the season, partners compatriot Marius Louw in midfield, with the new recruit also making his first start of the season after debuting off the bench. George Ford and Gus Warr again link up in the halves.
Up front, Sam Dugdale and club captain Ernst van Rhyn join Woodman in the back-row, with Hyron Andrews and Ben Bamber again starting at lock. Cowan-Dickie is also joined by fellow England internationals Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Bevan Rodd in the front-row.
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Simon McIntyre, Tom Burrow, Ethan Caine, Tom O’Flaherty and Sam Bedlow join the aforementioned Jibulu, Harper and Quirke on the Sale bench.
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Newcastle Red Bulls have also made mass changes to their squad this weekend, with six from the side that lost to Exeter last weekend.
South African recruit Boeta Chamberlain gets the nod at 10, while Ethan Grayson and Elliott Obatoyinbo come into the back three. Elsewhere, Fergus Lee-Warner, Adam Brocklebank and Richard Palframan come into the starting pack.
The aforementioned Grayson and Obatoyinbo join Alex Hearle in the outside backs division, with Connor Doherty and Max Clark starting in the midfield. Chamberlain also partners James Elliott in a new-look half-back unit.
Up front, imposing number eight Amanaki Mafi joins Tom Gordon and the aforementioned Lee-Warner in a tasty back-row, with PREM stalwart Freddie Clarke joining Jamie Hodgson in the locks. Palframan and Brocklebank start alongside skipper George McGuigan in the front-row.
Los Pumas recruit Simon Benitez Cruz is the headline selection on the bench, while Ollie Fletcher, Micky Rewcastle, Murray McCallum, Oscar Usher, Cameron Neild, Brett Connon and Oli Spencer also make the cut.
Sale Sharks v Newcastle Red Bulls team news in full
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Sam Dugdale, 7 Tristan Woodman, 6 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Ethan Caine, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Tom O’Flaherty, 23 Sam Bedlow
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson, 14 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Max Clark, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 James Elliott, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Freddie Clarke, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 George McGuigan (c), 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Oscar Usher, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Oli Spencer
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Where to watch: TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and Discovery+
Referee: Joe James
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales and Wayne Falla
TMO: Andrew Jackson