Virus-hit Sale finally name their XV to face Worcester
Sale Sharks have named their side to face Worcester Warriors in Wednesday's rearranged Gallagher Premiership match. Following a confirmed 19 positive Covid-19 cases at the club last week, Steve Diamond’s squad options were in short supply.
There are seven changes from the starting XV that won at Northampton last week, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Manu Tuilagi (injured), Simon Hammersley, Faf de Klerk, Curtis Langdon, Coenie Oosthuizen and Cobus Wiese all missing out.
Akker van der Merwe, Jake Cooper-Woolley and James Phillips, who all came off the bench at Franklin's Gardens, are also unavailable.
However, the club claim they will field a covid-compliant matchday squad for the re-arranged fixture against Worcester. Valery Morozov, Cameron Neild and Ross Harrison will make up the front row, with Morozov making the switch to tighthead prop for the first time since joining the club.
Jean-Luc du Preez and Matt Postlethwaite combine to form the lock partnership, with Jono Ross, Tom Curry and Daniel du Preez making up the back row.
Will Cliff and Robert du Preez link up in the half-back roles and they will be joined in the backline by Sam Hill and Sam James, who take their places in the midfield after combining for 60 minutes at Franklin's Gardens following Tuilagi's early injury in that game. Marland Yarde, Denny Solomona and Luke James complete the backline.
The Sale selection remains subject to the entire squad undergoing further Covid-19 testing on Tuesday. A club statement said: "If the club feels it is not safe to play or receive one additional positive test, Sale will forfeit their Gallagher Premiership round 22 match with Worcester Warriors in order to ensure the health and safety of all concerned."
Worcester have made one change from the XV selected for last Sunday's originally scheduled fixture. Sam Lewis will start on the openside flank in place of Matt Kvesic who has been ruled out by a sore achilles tendon. Matti Williams takes Kvesic’s place on the bench.
The Worcester team announcement media release stated: "A number of Covid-related health and safety matters have yet to be resolved and the fixture still requires the approval of Premiership Rugby, the RFU and Public Health England."
SALE: 15. Luke James, 14. Denny Solomona, 13. Sam James, 12. Sam Hill, 11. Marland Yarde, 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Will Cliff; 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Cameron Neild, 3. Valerey Morozov, 4. Matt Postlethwaite, 5. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Jono Ross (Capt.), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Daniel du Preez. Reps: 16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Cal Ford, 18. Joe Jones, 19. Ewan Murphy, 20. Sam Dugdale, 21. Joe Bedlow, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Connor Doherty.
WORCESTER: 15. Chris Pennell; 14. Melani Nanai, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Scott van Breda, 11. Noah Heward; 10. Billy Searle, 9. Francois Hougaard; 1. Ethan Waller, 2. Beck Cutting, 3. Richard Palframan, 4. Anton Bresler, 5. Andrew Kitchener, 6. Ted Hill (capt), 7. Sam Lewis, 8. Marco Mama. Reps: 16. Niall Annett, 17. Callum Black, 18. Joe Morris, 19. Joe Batley, 20. Matti Williams, 21. Tom Dodd, 22. Gareth Simpson, 23. Jamie Shillcock.
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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