Manu Tuilagi set for Sale debut as Premiership returns

David Skippers
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Manu Tuilagi and Sam Hill are set to make their Sale Sharks debuts in a squad that contains four World Cup finalists as the Premiership returns on Friday at the Twickenham Stoop.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond has named the 23-man squad that will travel south to face Harlequins tomorrow evening in the highly-anticipated return of the Premiership.

Diamond names new signings Tuilagi and Hill in the starting line-up alongside World Cup-winner Lood de Jager, who will make his full club debut.

Coenie Oosthuizen, Akker van der Merwe and Will-Griff John make up a heavyweight Sharks front-row for the trip, with an all-South African combination of Jean-Luc du Preez and De Jager providing power and experience behind them.

Club captain Jono Ross resumes his usual position at blindside flanker and is joined in a powerful back-row by internationals Tom Curry and Daniel du Preez.

Faf de Klerk makes his first start for the club since January, after recovering from a knee strain, and will form a familiar partnership with Rob du Preez as the Sharks kick things off in London on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Mike Brown and Nathan Earle will return to Harlequins’ matchday squad together for the first time in 489 days when they run out against Sale.

Debutant wing Chris Ashton, who signed from the Sharks earlier in the year, joins Brown and Earle in a side restored of key names as the Premiership returns for the first time since March 8.

Centre Joe Marchant is also back in the Quartered jersey for the first time this year, having joined New Zealand Super Rugby side the Blues mid-season.

Off the bench, Harlequins will unleash the first of the Club’s summer signings, with scrum-half Scott Steele donning the 22 jersey as head of rugby Paul Gustard opts for a 6-2 split on the bench.

Form: Harlequins have won just twice in the last seven rounds of Premiership Rugby, both at Twickenham Stoop, against Saracens on 26 January and Exeter on 29 February. The Londoners have lost just twice at the venue in the Premiership this season, to Worcester in Round 4 and London Irish in Round 10. Sale Sharks’ only defeat in their last six Premiership Rugby fixtures was 22-36 at Saracens on 15 February. Sale have won three times on the road in the competition this campaign, at London Irish in Round 2, Exeter in Round 9 and Gloucester in Round 12. Harlequins’ only victory in their last four encounters with Sale was 51-23 on the last occasion that the two locked horns at The Stoop, in September 2018. The Sharks have won only once at Twickenham Stoop in the Premiership since 2008; 16-12 in November 2014.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 James Lang, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Chisholm, 5 Matt Symons, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Will Collier, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Will Evans, 22 Scott Steele, 23 Paul Lasike

Sale: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Phillips, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Will Cliff, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Denny Solomona

Date: Friday, August 14
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Paul Dix
TMO: Rowan Kitt

 

Harlequins