Preview: Sale v Harlequins

Sale have handed new signing Matty James his first Aviva Premiership start for their home game against Harlequins on Friday.

Sale have handed new signing Matty James his Aviva Premiership bow for their hosting of Harlequins on Friday.

The Sharks head into Round Three on the back of a defeat to Saracens and will be wary of their visitors, despite their winless start to 2010/11.

Head Coach Mike Brewer has chosen to freshen up his XV for the home game and gives fly-half James his first run-out in the number ten jersey, with Nick MacLeod running from inside centre.

“Quins have competed pretty well in their first two matches, particularly against a Northampton team that's highly rated,” said Brewer.

“There are areas in the way that they play that we'll have to watch, and there are areas that we'll look to try and exploit. One of the key things for us is our defence, our discipline.

“They've got key players in the 8-9-10 channel with Easter, Care and Evans and they're strong at the back with Mike Brown. We've got to stop them playing, and that will be the responsibility of the tight five in the pack. Danny's a wonderful little player, and I remember Nick as a young guy in New Zealand. The best way to stop a nine and ten playing is to dominate their pack.

“As a team they work hard for each other. We went down to try and beat Sarries and came unstuck. For this week, it's about getting things right, addressing the issues, learning from the mistakes we made. In the Premiership, you don't have much time to dwell on things. You've got address them, correct them, and then put them to bed and move on.”

Meanwhile, after two thrilling games in the opening two matches of the new season, Quins will be disappointed not to have turned such good performances into more points and head to face Sale determined to get their first win on the board.

There are a number of changes to the starting line-up which faced Saints last Saturday. With Ugo Monye sidelined due to a toe injury, George Lowe moves to the wing and summer signing, Ollie Smith, makes his first competitive start at number thirteen.

Tom Guest will play in the number eight shirt with the England number eight, Nick Easter, moving to lock, a move which for this particular match, the Quins Director of Rugby has discussed with Martin Johnson. Ollie Kohn drops to the bench.

In the front-row Matt Cairns and James Johnston, who have been sharing the workload with Chris Brooker and Mark Lambert, get the a call-up.

Form: Sale Sharks have won just one of their last six games in the Premiership: 35-18 over Newcastle at Edgeley Park in round one. Harlequins only win in their last five Premiership encounters was 35-20 at home to Sale on 8 May. Quins have not won away from home in the Premiership in 2010. Harlequins have visited Edgeley Park on seven previous occasions in all competitions and won just once: 19-13 in the Premiership on 19 November 2004.

The teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Ben Cohen, 13 Chris Bell, 12 Nick Macleod, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Matty James, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 David Seymour, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 James Gaskell (capt), 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Jack Forster, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Andrew Sheridan, 18 Aston Croall, 19 Nic Rouse, 20 Kristian Ormsby, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Kyle Tonetti, 23 Tom Brady.

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 George Lowe, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Will Skinner, 6 Chris Robshaw (capt), 5 Tomas Vallejos, 4 Nick Easter, 3 James Johnston, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Ceri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Mark Lambert, 19 Ollie Kohn, 20 Pete Browne, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Gonzalo Camacho.

Date: Friday, September 17
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Venue: Edgeley Park
Referee: Dave Pearson