Preview: Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Leicester Tigers and Worcester Warriors at Welford Road Stadium on September 23, 2018 in Leicester, United Kingdom.
Kyle Eastmond and Adam Thompstone return to the Leicester Tigers backline for Sunday’s home Premiership game against Sale Sharks.
Eastmond came off the bench to play a major part in the Tigers’ second-half fightback against Worcester Warriors last weekend and starts at centre in the absence of Manu Tuilagi who has a leg injury, while Thompstone has recovered from injury to take his place on the wing, with Jonah Holmes reverting to the bench.
England U20s cap Ben White starts his first Premiership game at scrum-half, with Ben Youngs among the replacements after a knock in last Sunday’s defeat by Worcester prevented his participation at the England training camp this week.
Tigers interim head coach Geordan Murphy retains the same forward pack that started last week, including back-rowers David Denton and Guy Thompson, who both claimed their first tries for the club in that game at Welford Road.
Ross McMillan is included among the replacements and could make his debut as cover for skipper Tom Youngs at hooker.
For Sale, Andrei Ostrikov returns from injury for his first game of the season, while Rob Webber returns at hooker and Josh Strauss is included at number eight.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg returns to the match-day squad having last played for the club against Lyon in January before returning to the Lions.
Form: Leicester Tigers’ only victory so far this season was 49-33 at home to Newcastle three weeks ago. The Tigers have lost three of their last four matches at Welford Road. Sale Sharks’ solitary victory in Premiership Rugby since Round 19 last season was at home to Worcester on 9 September. Sale have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since a visit to Northampton on 3 March. The Tigers have won their last three matches against the Sharks whilst Sale’s only victory at Welford Road since February 2008 was 10-3 in February 2016.
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben White, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 David Feao, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Jonah Holmes
Sale: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 James Phillips, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Gus Warr, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Paul Dix
Television match official: Stuart Terheege