Meehan expects a kicking battle
Kingsley Jones has made just a couple of changes to his starting lineup for this weekend’s clash with Bath at Edgeley Park with Nick Macleod returning at full back, James Gaskell moving to lock and Chris Jones moving to No.8
Director of Rugby Kingsley Jones said: “We are looking forward to the game but we know it will be a tough one. Bath always provide good opposition and they are in a false position at the foot of the table. They have a good squad are well coached and I believe this will be our hardest game so far.”
On Charlie Hodgson’s absence Kingsley said: “Charlie stubbed his toe against Leicester and has been struggling. On saying that he is in training and once the bruising goes down he will be fine. Lee Thomas however is a good deputy and played well at Fly Half for us last week.”
Previewing the weekend ahead, Bath coach Steve Meehan said he is expecting a big performance from his side.
“If we can show the same amount of improvement between weeks two and three as we did between one and two, then we have got every chance of coming away with the win,” said Meehan.
“It’s a long season, but we would obviously like to break our duck and that is the intention.
“Sale have got their recipe of rugby and we are a little bit more wise visiting there this year than we were in previous seasons. We may have to change the way we play accordingly.
But, as always, Sale Sharks have their not-so-secret weapon in the form of Charlie Hodgson, whose boot has put pressure on Bath Rugby on more than one occasion.
“We will want to put a lot of defensive pressure on him so our line speed will have to be good,” admitted Meehan. “His kicking accuracy is phenomenal and that will mean our back three will have to be on their toes, read those moments and make sure they have got field coverage.
“Sale have won and drawn games off the back of the boot and scored one try – so how important is their kicking game for them? Terrifically important.
“It will be a good battle and it might come down to how we react when we win the ball, how much pressure we can put them under and how much time we can spend in their half.”
The last seven clashes between the two sides in the Guinness Premiership have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Bath’s only Premiership win at Edgeley Park came on their first ever visit in September 2003.
Sale Sharks are unbeaten in their last four matches in the Guinness Premiership, whilst Sale’s only home defeat in any competition since last November was 25-32 to Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership on 8 March.
Bath Rugby have now slipped to three successive defeats in the Guinness Premiership – their poorest run for almost three years. Bath’s only away win in their last seven encounters in all competitions was 15-14 at Newcastle in the Premiership on 19 April.
The Teams:
Sale: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Chris Bell, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Lee Thomas, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Chris Jones, 7 David Seymour, 6 Luke Abraham, 5 Dean Schofield (captain), 4 James Gaskell, 3 Eifion Roberts, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Andrew Sheridan
Replacements 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Jack Forster, 18 Gavin Kerr, 19 Brent Cockbain, 20 David Tait, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Oriol Ripol, 23 Andy Tuilagi
Bath Rugby: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Nicky Little, 9 Michael Claassens (captain), 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jonny Faamatuainu, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Peter Short, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Barnes
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Flatman, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Stuart Hooper, 20 Andy Beattie, 21 Scott Bemand, 22 Ryan Davis, 23 Michael Stephenson
Date: Friday 18 September
Venue: Edgeley Park
Time: 19:45 (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Dave Pearson (129th Premiership game)
