Sale Sharks load up for Saracens as Kyle Sinckler reaches 50 against Newcastle

Round Nine of the Premiership begins with two matches on Friday as Sale Sharks host Saracens whilst Newcastle Falcons welcome Bristol Bears.

Sale Sharks v Saracens

Director of Rugby Mark McCall has made one change from the Saracens side that secured a bonus point win in the Investec Champions Cup at StoneX against Connacht last week, with Ivan van Zyl coming back in for Aled Davies.

Centre Olly Hartley gets a further match to build on his fine form and enjoy the new free-running version of Owen Farrell

Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Alec Clarey continue in the front-row, with Maro Itoje and Theo McFarland in the engine room.

Juan Martin Gonzalez keeps his place after a Player of the Match display which included one of the tries of the season, and he has Andy Christie and Billy Vunipola for company at the base of the scrum once again.

Van Zyl and captain Farrell will look to run the game as half-backs, and the centre pairing of Hartley and Nick Tompkins gets another runout.

Sean Maitland and Lucio Cinti, who both scored last week, will go again on the wings, with the ever-present Alex Goode at full-back.

On the bench Hugh Tizard will add plenty of physicality to the pack against a sizeable Sharks outfit, and Tom Parton can inject significant pace when called upon.

Meanwhile, Manu Tuilagi, George Ford and captain Ben Curry all return to the Sale Sharks squad after missing the narrow Champions Cup defeat to Leinster last week.

Fit-again Jean-Luc du Preez and Argentina hooker Agustin Creevy also start against last year’s Premiership champions.

Creevy is a part of an experienced front row, with Ross Harrison lining up at loosehead alongside Creevy and tighthead Nick Schonert.

Cobus Wiese and Jonny Hill are back together in the second-row and Ernst van Rhyn, captain Curry and JL du Preez make up an abrasive back-row.

Gus Warr and George Ford team up again at half-back, with Tuilagi returning to partner Rob du Preez in the centres.

The teams

Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Sam James, 23 Sam Bedlow.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Andy Christie, 6 Juan-Martin Gonzalez, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Alec Clarey, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Tom West, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Tom Parton, 23 Alex Lewington.

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium, Salford
Kick-off: 19:45
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Hamish Grant, John Meredith
TMO: Andrew Jackson

Newcastle Falcons v Bristol Bears

Argentina wing Mateo Careras returns from a hamstring injury for Newcastle’s clash with Bristol, with flanker Guy Pepper also back from a thigh problem to form part of a starting XV including nine academy graduates.

Centre Jordan Holgate makes his Falcons debut, with the South African spending the past couple of months training with the club after helping Jersey Reds to the RFU Championship title last season.

Lock-forward Sebastian de Chaves makes his 50th appearance for Newcastle, whose squad arrived back from South Africa on Tuesday following a delayed return from their EPCR Challenge Cup game in Johannesburg.

For Bristol, Kyle Sinckler will make his 50th competitive appearance for the club in a team featuring just one enforced change from the side that beat Gloucester at Ashton Gate in the Premiership three weeks ago, with Jake Woolmore replacing the injured Ellis Genge in the front row.

Steven Luatua makes his first away appearance of the season, lining up in back-row alongside captain Fitz Harding and Scotland international Magnus Bradbury.

On the bench, Noah Heward is named in the number 23 shirt, while scrum-half Kieran Marmion returns from a short-term injury lay-off.

The teams

Newcastle: 15 Tom Penny, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Oliver Spencer, 12 Jordan Holgate, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Louie Johnson, 9 James Elliott, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Sam Cross, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 John Hawkins, 3 Eduardo Bello,  2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Phil Brantingham.
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 George Wacokecoke.

Bristol: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Rich Lane, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler , 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 George Kloska 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 James Williams, 23 Noah Heward.

Venue: Kingston Park Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-off: 19:35
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Cook, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Rowan Kitt

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