Planet Rugby

Preview: Gloucester v Sale Sharks

23rd November 2012 10:23

Charlie Sharples Gloucester AVP 2012

Back at Kingsholm: Sharples

Jim Hamilton returns from Scotland duty to skipper Gloucester against Sale this week, while Charlie Sharples is back having been with England.

The return of Hamilton and Sharples helps to offset the loss of Ben Morgan who will start against South Africa for England at Twickenham.

However, the core of the team is the one that started against London Welsh last weekend.

Shane Monahan moves from the right wing to the left to accommodate the return of Sharples, while Hamilton lining up alongside Will James in the second row means that Tom Savage goes to 6.

Other changes see Dan Murphy start at loosehead instead of Nick Wood and Sione Kalamafoni returns from injury to replace Morgan.

Sale travel south occupying 12th place in the Aviva Premiership table. However, their form seems to have picked up in recent weeks.

As a result, Gloucester's Director of Rugby Nigel Davies stressed this week that Sale's league position is somewhat misleading, and that they shouldn't be underestimated.

"You look at their squad and they've an excellent squad of players. We have to respect that," he said.

"They'll be disappointed with where they are in the league and will be desperate for a win to get themselves back on track.

"We have total respect for them but, if we want to remain a top four team, then we have to prepare mentally, and turn up mentally in the right place, for every game we play.

"We've got good momentum going into the game. We've been able to rotate the squad a little bit in recent weeks. So, everyone has had a bit of game time and is fresh and raring to go."

Meanwhile, Sale have named their strongest side as they look to back up their opening victory over the Premiership season when they beat London Irish at Salford City Stadium.

Rob Miller returns to the full-back jersey while Charlie Amesbury comes in for Cameron Shepherd on the wing. With Johnny Leota away on international duty with Samoa, Will Addison is at 13 alongside Sam Tuitupou. David Seymour leads from the openside flank.

Form: Gloucester tripped up to table-topping Harlequins in round eight of the Aviva Premiership - only their second defeat in the competition this season. Gloucester have won their last six competitive matches at Kingsholm since Northampton won there on 1 September. Sale Sharks beat Saracens 25-23 at the Salford City Stadium in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Friday but have not won back-to-back games since April. The Sharks opened their winning account in this season's Aviva Premiership Rugby with a 21-9 home victory over London Irish in round eight. Sale achieved the Premiership double over Gloucester in 2011/12 but have not won on successive visits to Kingsholm since 1995-1996.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Tom Savage, 5 Jim Hamilton (capt), 4 Will James, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Koree Britton, 17 Nick Wood, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Peter Buxton, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Tim Molenaar, 23 Martyn Thomas.

Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Charlie Amesbury, 13 Will Addison, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Andy Powell, 7 David Seymour (capt), 6 Richie Vernon, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Tom Holmes, 20 James Gaskell, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Cameron Shepherd.

Date: Saturday, November 24
Kick-off: 12:00
Venue: Kingsholm
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege, Ashley Rowden
Television match official: Trevor Fisher
Timekeeper: Matthew Peters
Assessor: Paul Bridgman

Comments

Be the first to comment on this story..


Character Count : 0/1900

Forthcoming Fixtures
FixtureDetails
All times are local
International Match
Sunday , May 26
England vs Barbarians13:00
More International Match fixtures
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 25
Leicester vs NorthamptonLeicester vs Northampton Preview
More Aviva Premiership fixtures
RaboDirect PRO12
Saturday , May 25
Ulster vs Leinster16:45
More RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures
Top 14
Friday , May 24
Toulon vs ToulouseToulon vs Toulouse Preview
Saturday , May 25
Clermont Auvergne vs CastresClermont Auvergne vs Castres Preview
More Top 14 fixtures
Super Rugby
Friday , May 24
Melbourne Rebels vs WaratahsMelbourne Rebels vs Waratahs Preview
Saturday , May 25
Blues vs BrumbiesBlues vs Brumbies Preview
Western Force vs HighlandersWestern Force vs Highlanders Preview
Southern Kings vs Cheetahs16:00
Stormers vs RedsStormers vs Reds Preview
Sharks vs BullsSharks vs Bulls Preview
More Super Rugby fixtures
Recent Results
FixtureDetails
All times are local
Super Rugby
Friday , May 24
Chiefs 28 - 19 CrusadersChiefs vs Crusaders Report
More Super Rugby results
Heineken Cup
Saturday , May 18
Clermont Auvergne 15 - 16 ToulonClermont Auvergne vs Toulon Report
More Heineken Cup results
Super Rugby
Crusaders 23 - 3 BluesCrusaders vs Blues Report
Bulls 35 - 18 HighlandersBulls vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 28 - 22 BrumbiesWaratahs vs Brumbies Report
Cheetahs 27 - 13 RedsCheetahs vs Reds Report
More Super Rugby results
Amlin Challenge Cup
Friday , May 17
Stade Francais 13 - 34 LeinsterStade Francais vs Leinster Report
More Amlin Challenge Cup results
Super Rugby
Hurricanes 12 - 17 ChiefsHurricanes vs Chiefs Report
Melbourne Rebels 30 - 21 StormersMelbourne Rebels vs Stormers Report
Western Force 13 - 23 SharksWestern Force vs Sharks Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Sunday , May 12
Saracens 13 - 27 NorthamptonSaracens vs Northampton Report
Saturday , May 11
Leicester 33 - 16 HarlequinsLeicester vs Harlequins Report
More Aviva Premiership results
RaboDirect PRO12
Leinster 17 - 15 GlasgowLeinster vs Glasgow Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Castres 25 - 12 MontpellierCastres vs Montpellier Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Blues 36 - 32 Melbourne RebelsBlues vs Melbourne Rebels Report
Southern Kings 34 - 27 HighlandersSouthern Kings vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 21 - 15 StormersWaratahs vs Stormers Report
More Super Rugby results
RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , May 10
Ulster 28 - 17 ScarletsUlster vs Scarlets Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Stade Francais 19 - 16 Racing Metro Paris
Toulouse 33 - 19 Racing Metro ParisToulouse vs Racing Metro Paris Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Chiefs 22 - 21 Western ForceChiefs vs Western Force Report
Reds 32 - 17 SharksReds vs Sharks Report
Cheetahs 34 - 39 HurricanesCheetahs vs Hurricanes Report
Sunday , May 5
Brumbies 23 - 30 CrusadersBrumbies vs Crusaders Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 4
Leicester 32 - 20 London IrishLeicester vs London Irish Report
More Aviva Premiership results