Sale Sharks v Harlequins teams: Major George Ford call made as England internationals return
George Ford and Joe Carpenter (pictured) and Alex Dombrandt (left) are among the England internationals back in action this weekend.
George Ford and Alex Dombrandt are among the England internationals returning to the field this weekend, with Sale Sharks taking on Harlequins on Boxing Day.
Both sides come into the festive clash off the back of heavy defeats, with Sale falling 47-21 to Northampton Saints and Harlequins losing 40-14 against Bristol Bears at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
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England internationals Ford, Bevan Rodd and Joe Carpenter are among five changes to the Sale match-day squad this weekend, as Alex Sanderson seeks an immediate response from last weekend’s defeat.
Carpenter comes straight in at full-back, with Tom O’Flaherty and Alex Willis completing the back three. Rob du Preez and Marius Louw form a strong centre pairing, with Ford partnering Raffi Quirke in the halves.
Tom Curry continues at number eight, with captain Ernst van Rhyn and Jacques Vermeulen named as the flankers. Hyron Andrews comes in at lock, joining Ben Bamber in the engine room. James Harper also comes into starting side, partnering Luke Cowan-Dickie and the returning Rodd in the front-row.
Ex-Quins man Nathan Jibulu, Si McIntyre, WillGriff John, Tom Burrow and Sam Dugdale are the forward options on the bench, with Gus Warr, Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Gurshwin Wehr the back replacements.
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Harlequins have made just two changes to their group for the trip to the North West, with the returning Dombrandt named on the bench.
Nick David and captain Cadan Murley are joined by Argentina star Rodrigo Isgró in the back three, with England internationals Oscar Beard and Luke Northmore named in midfield. Marcus Smith again starts at fly-half, with Will Porter alongside him at nine.
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Chandler Cunningham-South gets the nod at eight, with Tom Lawday and Jack Kenningham named on the flanks. Kieran Treadwell and Guido Petti start in the locks, with Harry Williams, Jack Walker and Will Hobson in the front-row.
Jack Musk, Boris Wenger, Pedro Delgado, Jonny Green, Lucas Friday, Jarrod Evans and Bryn Bradley join the aforementioned Dombrandt among the replacements.
The teams
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Alex Wills, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 23 Gurshwin Wehr
Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Cadan Murley (c), 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Lawday, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Will Hobson
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Jonny Green, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Lucas Friday, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Bryn Bradley
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley and Jamie Leahy
TMO: Hamish Smales
How to watch: TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports UHD, Discovery+