Steve Diamond has named his side which takes on Pau in the European Rugby Challenge Cup at the AJ Bell Stadium tomorrow, kick off 2.30pm.
The English side have won five of the last seven against French opposition in the competition, four of which was by a margin of at least 15 points. Steve Diamond’s side has won just one of the last three Challenge Cup matches against Pau although that victory was in the 2005 final which saw the Sharks lift their second Challenge Cup title.
Magnus Lund captains the side, where there are multiple changes to the starting XV from last weekend, including returns for Will Addison, Bryn Evans & TJ Ioane.
Sale Sharks: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Tom Brady, 13. Sam James, 12. Mark Jennings, 11. Will Addison, 10. Joe Ford, 9. Chris Cusiter, 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Brian Mujati, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Andrei Ostrikov, 6. Magnus Lund (capt), 7. TJ Ioane. 8. Viliami Fihaki
Replacements: 16. Cameron Neild, 17. James Flynn. 18. Ciaran Parker, 19. Jonathan Mills, 20. Josh Beaumont, 21. James Mitchell, 22. Tim Jeffers, 23. Nev Edwards.
Speaking ahead of the game, Steve Diamond said: “We’ve lost two games now, so we’ve got to get back on track now. Pau are a good side and well coached by Simon Mannix, a former teammate of mine at Sale FC. We’ve watched a bit of them and they seem to be throwing the ball around a bit, so it bodes well for a good game. He’s got his stamp on the side through the way they plan, it’s structured and they’ll be a real test for us.
