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<\/p>\nWorld Rugby Dream Team\u00a0pick\u00a0Tom Curry will start\u00a0his first Sharks game of the season alongside three more returning England internationals as Alex Sanderson makes 14 changes to his side for the Gallagher Prem clash with\u00a0Exeter Chiefs on Friday night (KO 7.45pm, live on Discovery+).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke Cowan-Dickie,\u00a0George\u00a0Ford\u00a0and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also start against the Chiefs following their heroics with England in the Quilter Autumn Series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cowan-Dickie is one of three former Chiefs in the Sharks side, with Tom O\u2019Flaherty and summer signing Jacques Vermeulen also facing their former club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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In the front row\u00a0tighthead\u00a0Opoku-Fordjoiur\u00a0is joined\u00a0by hooker\u00a0Cowan-Dickie\u00a0and loosehead\u00a0Simon McIntyre, who will make his 100th\u00a0Sharks appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the second-row, club captain Ernst van\u00a0Rhyn\u00a0returns alongside Ben Bamber, who played for England A in the recent fixture against Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curry returns in the number seven\u00a0shirt\u00a0and\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0make up a powerful\u00a0back-row\u00a0with Vermeulen and number 8 Dan du\u00a0Preez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford, who masterminded England to three of their four Autumn wins, starts at fly-half with Gus Warr alongside him at\u00a0scrum-half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rekeit\u00a0Ma\u2019asi-White and Rob du\u00a0Preez\u00a0are reunited in the centres, while on the wing, injuries to Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed mean Alex Wills gets a chance to impress alongside O\u2019Flaherty. Luke James is the full-back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Sharks bench\u00a0is packed with talent with\u00a0hooker Nathan\u00a0Jibulu\u00a0joined by replacement props\u00a0Tumy\u00a0Onasanya\u00a0and James Harper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hyron\u00a0Andrews and Tom Burrow will offer extra lineout options from the bench.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raffi Quirke returns from England camp to take his place alongside Marius Louw\u00a0and after signing a short-term contract with the club, Regan Grace makes his return to PREM action off the\u00a0bench.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starting XV:\u00a0<\/p>\n
15.\u00a0Luke James, 14. Tom O\u2019Flaherty, 13. Rob du\u00a0Preez, 12.\u00a0Rekeiti\u00a0Ma\u2019asi-White, 11. Alex Wills, 10. George Ford, 9.\u00a0Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre (100), 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3.\u00a0Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van\u00a0Rhyn\u00a0\u00a9, 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Jacques Vermeulen, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Dan du\u00a0Preez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Replacements:\u00a0<\/p>\n
16.\u00a0Nathan\u00a0Jibulu, 17.\u00a0Tumy\u00a0Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19,\u00a0Tom Burrow, 20.\u00a0Hyron\u00a0Andrews, 21. Raffi Quirke, 22. Marius Louw, 23.\u00a0Regan Grace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Match stats:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sale\u2019s last six PREM matches have all been won by the home team on the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sharks have lost only once at\u00a0CorpAcq\u00a0Stadium in the PREM since January 2024:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sale Sharks boast the highest scrum success rate (87.5%) and most total lineouts\u00a0(85) in the Premiership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
George Ford has accumulated the most kicking metres in the league (2,027) while\u00a0ranking 2nd for kicks in play (60).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sam Dugdale ranks 2nd for total successful tackles (83) and 1st for total ruck entries\u00a0(135), showing his all-round work rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ernst van\u00a0Rhyn\u00a0leads the league in dominant tackle contacts (8) while contributing\u00a0129 total ruck entries (6th in Premiership).\u00a0<\/p>\n
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