Alex Sanderson has made two changes to his Sharks side to face Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate (LIVE on TNT Sports, KO 7.45pm) as Sam Dugdale and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White return to the starting XV after making their returns from injury as replacements last week.
Otherwise, it’s ‘as you were’ for the Sharks as they look to back up their impressive Boxing Day win against Harlequins and repeat their 0-38 win at Bristol from last season, the most recent of three successive wins at Ashton Gate.
After returning from injury against Quins, England loosehead Bevan Rodd will start again in the front row with hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and tighthead James Harper.
In the second-row, skipper Ernst van Rhyn partners Ben Bamber while Dugdale returns to the back-row to start with Jacques Vermeulen, who scored his first two Sharks tries on Boxing Day, at blindside flanker and Tom Curry at number 8.
Following his Player of the Match performance against Quins, Raffi Quirke starts again at scrum-half and he’ll have George Ford alongside him after the England fly-half, who will make his 200th Prem appearance, returned from a groin injury last time out.
Ma’asi-White replaces Marius Louw at 12 with Rob du Preez in his familiar outside centre slot. And in the back three, Alex Wills starts on the left wing with Tom O’Flaherty once again on the right and Joe Carpenter, who also made his return from injury against Quins, at full-back.
Nathan Jibulu is the replacement hooker and he’s joined on the bench by props Si McIntyre and Patreece Bell. Tom Burrow and Jos Gilmore are the other forwards in reserve.
Gus Warr, Louw and Gurshwin Wehr are the backs on the bench.
Starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom O’Flaherty, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Alex Wills, 10. George Ford, 9. Raffi Quirke; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. James Harper, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Ernst van Rhyn ©, 6. Jacques Vermeulen, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Tom Curry.
Replacements:
16. Nathan Jibulu, 17. Si McIntyre, 18. Patreece Bell, 19. Tom Burrow, 20. Jos Gilmore, 21. Gus Warr, 22. Marius Louw, 23. Gurshwin Wehr.
Match facts:
- Bristol Bears have won their last three Gallagher PREM matches and have not won four in a row in the competition since April 2024.
- Bristol lost just once at Ashton Gate in the PREM in 2025: 19-36 to Leicester in April.
- Sharks’ 43-17 home win over Harlequins in Round 8 ended a run of for successive PREM defeats.
- Sharks have lost their last five away games in the PREM, their worst run on the road since November 2018.
- Sale have won their last three matches against Bristol since the Bears triumphed 22-14 at the CorpAcq Stadium in January 2024.
- Sale have won on each of their last three visits to Ashton Gate.
