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Recap - Saracens vs Sale Sharks LIVE | Gallagher Premiership
By RugbyPass
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Gallagher Premiership match between Saracens and Sale Sharks at Allianz Park.
Keep up to date with the latest score, stats and join the conversation from anywhere in the world in our Live Match Centre (click here).
A mixture of youth and experience will take to the field for Saracens. Nineteen-year-old Manu Vunipola returns from England under-20s duty to take his place at fly-half meaning a switch back to full-back for Alex Goode – his first appearance in the 15 jersey since last season’s Gallagher Premiership final.
Speedsters Rotimi Segun and Alex Lewington are named on the wings while captain Brad Barritt and Alex Lozowski make up the midfield.
Tom Whiteley comes in at scrum-half for his first start of the league season and will be behind a pack with four changes from the trip to Sale in the Premiership Rugby Cup last time out.
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Back from international duty with Wales, Rhys Carre takes his place at loosehead and South Africa international Vincent Koch is reinstated at tighthead. Hooker Tom Woolstencroft remains in the front row.
Calum Clark and Jackson Wray are back at openside flanker and No8 respectively, joining Nick Isiekwe in the back row and locks Joel Kpoku and Callum Hunter-Hill continue their partnership for the third match in a row.
Meanwhile, Ben Curry will enter the record books this weekend as the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player to make 100 appearances for Sale.
Steve Diamond makes two personnel changes to the Sharks’ matchday-23 he named to face Saracens just eight days ago in the Premiership Cup semi-final, Chris Ashton and Byron McGuigan returning to the back three.
After announcing his retirement plans this week, Rob Webber will make his final trip to Allianz Park as a player and after returning from Wales’ Six Nations camp, Will-Griff John moves back into the starting line up alongside Ross Harrison as the Sharks continue to consistently rotate their front row options throughout the season.
The rest of the forwards remain unchanged for the trip to Allianz Park. Bryn Evans and Jean-Luc du Preez start in the lock, with the formidable partnership of Jono Ross, Curry and last week’s man of the match Daniel du Preez making up the back row.
Will Cliff continues to demonstrate his electric form at scrum half and partners up with Rob du Preez in the half-back roles.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Sam James keep their spots in the midfield while there is a back three of Ashton, McGuigan and Simon Hammersley outside them.
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Latest Comments
So if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
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