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Fit-again Manu Tuilagi at No12 as Sale and Northampton name teams

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

England powerhouse Manu Tuilagi will play his first rugby match in 16 weeks after Sale named him to start in their Gallagher Premiership opener at home to Northampton on Friday night. The appearance versus the Saints is his first run since the May 20 win at Wasps which was followed a fortnight later by the decision that he would undergo a knee operation rather than tour Australia with his country.

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A Sale statement read: “Manu Tuilagi is fit after knee surgery, Tom O’Flaherty makes his first league start and Josh Beaumont returns to the matchday squad for the first time in over a year as Alex Sanderson names his team for the opening Premiership clash of the 2022/23 season.

“Tuilagi lines up alongside Sam James in the centre as the Sale director of rugby opts for a mix of power and guile against Phil Dowson’s Saints. Despite the absence of England prop Bevan Rodd, Alex is able to call on a front row full of experience for the season opener with Si McIntyre and Nick Schonert lining up either side of hooker Akker van der Merwe.

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“With Jonny Hill still unavailable following his exploits with England in the summer, Matt Postlethwaite gets his chance to stake a claim for a regular spot in the second row alongside Cobus Wiese. And in the back row, captain Ben Curry starts at openside flanker with a double helping of du Preez twins for company. Jean-Luc starts at blindside with twin Daniel at number 8.

“Raffi Quirke and new signing George Ford are still recovering from injury, so Gus Warr starts at scrum-half and Robert du Preez takes the No10 shirt. Outside them, Tuilagi returns alongside James, with new boy O’Flaherty and Tom Roebuck on the wings. Luke James starts at full-back.

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“The replacements bench is an exciting mix of youth and experience. Front row cover comes from Tommy Taylor, Ross Harrison and Coenie Oosthuizen and they are joined by Jono Ross and fans’ favourite Beaumont. The backs are covered by new signing Joe Simpson, and academy graduates Tom Curtis and Arron Reed.”

Northampton’s team announcement statement read: “Director of rugby Phil Dowson has named his side for the Gallagher Premiership opener this weekend, with summer signings Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Angus Scott-Young set to make their full debuts at Sale.

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“Fraser Dingwall will lead out the visitors as captain and lines up in the midfield alongside Matt Proctor, with Courtnall Skosan (who scored eleven Premiership tries last term), Ollie Sleightholme, and Tom Collins named in the back three.

“James Grayson will look to control the game from fly-half, while Alex Mitchell starts in the No9 jersey having starred the last time Northampton met Sale – scoring a try and making 73 metres with two clean breaks and four defenders beaten.

“Up front, Salakaia-Loto makes his first competitive start for Saints in the engine room, with Alex Coles also packing down in the tight five behind an experienced front row of Alex Waller, Mike Haywood and Paul Hill.

“Scott-Young is named at blindside flanker in Northampton’s back row for his first taste of Premiership action, as Aaron Hinkley lines up on the other side of the scrum and Juarno Augustus (statistically the most destructive carrier of any forward in the Premiership, Top 14, URC and Super Rugby last season with a gain line success rate of 75 per cent) rounds off the line-up in the No8 jersey.

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“Amongst the replacements, there is room for England full-back George Furbank while there are more competitive Saints debuts in store for tighthead prop Alfie Petch and flanker Sam Graham if they enter the action from the bench.”

SALE SHARKS: 15. Luke James; 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Sam James, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Tom O’Flaherty; 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Simon McIntyre, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Matt Postlethwaite, 6. Jean-Luc du Preez, 7. Ben Curry (capt), 8. Daniel du Preez. Reps: 16. Tommy Taylor, 17. Ross Harrison, 18. Coenie Oosthuizen, 19, Josh Beaumont, 20. Jono Ross, 21. Joe Simpson, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Arron Reed.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: 15. Tom Collins; 14. Ollie Sleightholme, 13. Matt Proctor, 12. Fraser Dingwall (capt), 11. Courtnall Skosan; 10. James Grayson, 9. Alex Mitchell; 1. Alex Waller, 2. Mike Haywood, 3. Paul Hill, 4. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5. Alex Coles, 6. Angus Scott-Young, 7. Aaron Hinkley, 8. Juarno Augustus. Reps: 16. Sam Matavesi, 17. Emmanuel Iyogun, 18. Alfie Petch, 19. Alex Moon, 20. Sam Graham, 21. Tom James, 22. Tom Litchfield, 23. George Furbank.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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