TEAM NEWS | Sale Sharks v Saracens Men (GPR - Rd 19)
Theo Dan is excited for another opportunity to show what he can do when he makes his second consecutive start at hooker against Sale Sharks on Sunday.
The 22-year-old has been in fantastic form during the Six Nations window and has another big test ahead this weekend as Sarries travel to take on the second-placed Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The Men in Black currently have an 11-point cushion at the top of the Gallagher Premiership, and head to Manchester knowing a victory would give them a huge boost ahead of another break in league action.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall has made four changes to the starting line-up for the fixture which is being broadcast live on both ITV and BT Sport.
Nick Isiekwe returns from international duty to start in the second-row, and there are three alterations to the back-line as Aled Davies, Nick Tompkins and Sean Maitland are all back in the XV.
The front-row which functioned well last weekend against Newcastle remains the same, with Eroni Mawi, Theo Dan and Alec Clarey packing down in the scrum.
Isiekwe will re-establish his second-row partnership with Hugh Tizard whilst Tom Ellis moves to blindside flanker, and he will be alongside Andy Christie and Billy Vunipola in the back-row.
Davies is back in the nine shirt and he’ll have Manu Vunipola as his half-back partner for the trip to Manchester.
Nick Tompkins and Alex Lozowski are reunited in the midfield, and the back-three of Alex Lewington, Sean Maitland and captain Alex Goode will be looking to capitalise on any opportunities created.
On the bench there is another chance for Olly Hartley to shine after his impressive Premiership debut last weekend, and Rotimi Segun will inject some more pace in to the back-line when called upon.
Hooker Dan will head to Sale full of confidence after his try-scoring exploits against Newcastle.
“It’s always a dream come true to pull on this jersey and play in this team. It’s been great to get more game time recently and we can’t wait for a big challenge against Sale.
We were disappointed with the second half last week so it has given us a focus this week ahead of a tough game.”
Saracens Men team to play Sale Sharks:
1 Eroni Mawi
2 Theo Dan
3 Alec Clarey
4 Nick Isiekwe
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Tom Ellis
7 Andy Christie
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Aled Davies
10 Manu Vunipola
11 Alex Lewington
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Sean Maitland
15 Alex Goode (c)
Replacements:
16 Kapeli Pifeleti
17 Robin Hislop
18 Eduardo Bello
19 Cameron Boon
20 Toby Knight
21 Ivan Van Zyl
22 Olly Hartley
23 Rotimi Segun
