TEAM NEWS: SHARKS v BRISTOL BEARS
Xavier Roe will start for the first time in blue while Alex Sanderson has also picked fellow new signings Courtney Lawes and Joe Marchant in his XV as Your Sharks look to get the 2026/27 season off to a winning start against Bristol Bears.
Kiwi scrum-half Roe starts alongside returning England star George Ford while Lawes lines up in a back row alongside Tom Curry for the first time since the 2023 World Cup semi final.
Flying Fijian Elia Canakaivata and props Nicky Smith and Tomas Francis will make their Sharks debuts from a bench showing a 6-2 split.
Tickets for this one are still available – get yours now here.
The Sharks Director of Rugby has picked a front row full of power and dynamism to face Pat Lam’s men, with England props Bevan Rodd and Asher Opoku-Fordjour packing down either side of fellow international Luke Cowan-Dickie.
After both playing every league game last season, skipper Ernst van Rhyn and Ben Bamber have recovered from knee injuries to start together in the second row. Lawes, Curry and Jacques Vermeulen team up in an abrasive back row.
Roe and Ford are the half-backs and they’ll have Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Marchant outside them in the centres.
And in the back three, wingers Tom O’Flaherty and Arron Reed start either side of full-back Joe Carpenter. Tom Roebuck misses the game after picking up a minor calf strain in training.
Nathan Jibuliu is the replacement hooker with experienced Welsh internationals Smith and Francis the props in reserve.
Christ Tshiunza, who reached the PREM final with Exeter last season, Sam Dugdale and Canakaivata are the other forwards on the bench with scrum-half Gus Warr and the versatile Alex Lozowski the other backs named as replacements.
Starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom O’Flaherty, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Xavier Roe; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Jacques Vermeulen.
16. Nathan Jibulu, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Tomas Francis, 19. Christ Tshiunza, 20. Sam Dugdale, 21. Gus Warr, 22. Alex Lozowski, 23. Elia Canakaivata.
Unavailable for selection: Luke James (hamstring), Tom Roebuck (calf strain)
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