SUNDERLAND FACE TOUGH BATTLE AT NORTH SHIELDS
Sunderland face a crunch game away to North Shields in Durham Northumberland Two on Saturday.
The hosts are second in the table with ten wins and one draw fromk their 13 league fixtures so far.
The Ashbrooke men sit fourth in the table, just five points behind their opponents this weekend.
Sunderland bounced back to winning ways last Saturday following defeat to Ryton.
They recorded a 47-28 win against Bishop Auckland at Ashbrooke. There were ten changes in the squad including the return of Kie Hanlon after a broken collarbone. Luke Victory returned in the second row in a pack that pushed Bishop all over the park.
Sale have signed Russia international Valery Morozov from Enesei-STM.
The 24-year-old prop has 15 caps for his country and will join the Gallagher Premiership side at the start of next year.
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “(Sale players) Andrei Ostrikov and Vadim Cobilas first made me aware of Valery’s abilities as a player, and we kept a watch on him for the past 12 months whilst he was playing for Enesei.
“He’s a big, dynamic, scrummaging prop and front-row players with his skill set are few and far between.
“We look forward to welcoming him to Carrington on January 2 to bolster our options in the front row as we move into 2019.”
In rugby league, Leeds have handed a new fouryear contract to 20-year-old Polish prop Mikolaj Oledzki that will keep the England Knights forward at Emerald Headingley until at least the end of 2022.