Manu Tuilagi and Josh Beaumont have been named in a strong Sale Sharks side to host Northampton Saints in their first game of the new Premiership season this Sunday.
Tuilagi, 31, was ruled out of England’s tour of Australia this summer after picking up a knee injury that required surgery in June, whilst Beaumont plays for the first time in a year, also having sustained damage to the knee when he ruptured his right patellar tendon.
Unsurprisingly, Northampton have opted for a completely different 23 to the team they had fielded to play Saracens in the Premiership Cup the day before (in the now postponed clash), although only five players survive from the team that last played in the Premiershi, their play-off defeat to eventual champions Leicester.
The other big story from Sale’s starting line-up is the competitive debut of Tom O’Flaherty, with the former Exeter winger making his bow on the left-wing, having scored a hat-trick last week in an impressive pre-season thumping of Benetton.
All three of the Du Preez brothers start for the Sharks too, and though this will be their first Premiership game without fellow South African Faf de Klerk, they have the experience and quality of new signing Joe Simpson to call off the bench at scrum-half.
For the Saints, there are two debuts each in the starting XV and on the bench for the clash at the AJ Bell.
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto makes his bow in the second row, whilst Angus Scott-Young features at blindside flanker, with Alfie Petch and Sam Graham set to feature amongst the substitutes.
For the fifth-favourites Sale, and seventh-favourites Saints, this is likely to be a crucial test of their play-off ambitions, and what progress has been made by both sides over the summer.
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