Beaumont returns as Sale host Tigers
JOSH Beaumont returns to the Sharks’ back row for the visit of Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership Round 16 at the AJ Bell Stadium tonight at 8pm.
Arron Reed deputises on the left wing for Byron McGuigan, away with Scotland, while on the bench Gus Warr replaces the injured Will Cliff.
Paolo Odogwu steps into the gap vacated by Reed and lock Matt Postlethwaite is named, should Josh Strauss be retained by Scotland for their match against Wales.
Sale have lost just twice in their last eight Premiership games, but Leicester can reflect on winning their last four league encounters against the Sharks.
The Tigers lie in ninth place at the start of the Round 16 game, with six wins from their 15 games.
Tigers’ head coach Geordan Murphy says the character of the Leicester Tigers players shone through in the 19-14 win over Wasps at Welford Road.
Tigers were forced into early changes with scrum-half Ben White and his replacement Sam Harrison going off with head knocks in the first half as well as centre Gareth Owen before the team clawed their way in front on the scoreboard.
They still had to survive a last-minute call for a Wasps try which called for TMO checks before referee JP Doyle blew the final whistle to the delight of the 25,258 crowd.
Wasps’ supremo Dai Young was widely reported as unhappy with the official’s performance.
“We were robbed by the man in the middle,” read the headline in The Rugby Paper.
“I’m really proud of the lads’ performance,” said Tigers’ head coach Murphy. “That performance had character written all over it.
“We just kept at it, we had guys playing out of position, but did not make excuses, they get stuck in and they we managed to create some opportunities as well.
“We were on the ropes a bit and at half-time I said there are a lot of reasons why we could have been excused for not winning it with the injuries at scrum-half, Gareth Owen off, a wing playing at nine and a seven on the wing.
“But I thought if we went hard at it and do what we do well we could put them under pressure.”