Gloucester v Sale: Teams

Gloucester coach Dean Ryan will hand a first start of the season to Rory Lawson to take on Sale as he sticks to his rotation policy.

Lawson teams up with the Cherry and Whites following Scotland's World Cup exit and he has been handed the No.9 jersey ahead of Gareth Cooper, who has suffered an injury. Mike Prendergast is named among the replacements.

Marco Bortolami and Akapusi Qera are also named on the bench after their World Cup exploits, with Ryan making a number of changes.

Nick Wood and Andy Titterrell come into the front row, while Will James gets the nod in the second row. Peter Buxton moves to the backrow alongside Alasdair Strokosch, who replaces the injured Andy Hazell.

In the backs Ryan Lamb returns at No.10 in place of the benched Willie Walker.

Ryan told the club's official site: "We have always said we will select a side we believe is right for each individual game.

Impose

"But it doesn't matter who we select, it is up to us to impose our game on the opposition.

"If we can create some fluidity then I think we can be dangerous. We created opportunities last week we didn't finish off and that is something we are looking to rectify.

"Our squad is getting stronger all the time and our returning World Cup players are key to that process. It is up to them to fit in with what we are trying to build - we have made a very encouraging start and that is something we want to maintain.

"Sale are a very good side, who will look to pressurise us with high field position and a World class number 10 in Charlie Hodgson. We must be ready for that challenge and rise to it."

Sale coach Kingsley Jones insists Gloucester hold no fear for his side despite the Cherry and Whites remaining unbeaten this season.

Dean Ryan's side have been in impressive form, winning all four games, including victory over last season's champions Leicester.

However, Jones has every faith that his charges can cause an upset at Kingsholm.

He told the club's official site: "We've a lot of respect for Gloucester, who've made a fantastic start.

Confidence

"Their confidence must be high, and we know how tough it can be at Kingsholm.

"However, we travel with a good win against London Wasps behind us, and we played well at Bath in our last away match."

The Sharks will give debuts to Benoit Bourrust and Genaro Fessia, while fellow new signing Scott Lawson - the Scotland hooker - is named on the bench.

Lawson's international captain, Jason White, joins him on the bench after Scotland's early exit from the World Cup.

Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Leon Lloyd, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 James Bailey, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Rory Lawson, 1 Nick Wood, 2 Andy Titterrell, 3 Carlos Nieto, 4 Will James, 5 Alex Brown, 6 Peter Buxton (c), 7 Alasdair Strokosch, 8 Luke Narraway.
Replacements: 16 Olivier Azam, 17 Christian Califano, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Mike Prendergast, 21 Willie Walker, 22 Iain Balshaw.

Sale: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Julien Laharrague, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Rudi Keil, 11 Oriol Ripol, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Sililo Martens, 1 Lionel Faure, 2 Marc Jones, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 4 Dean Schofield (c), 5 Sean Cox, 6 Chris Jones, 7 Magnus Lund, 8 Genaro Fessia.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ben Evans, 18 Christian Day, 19 Jason White, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Rhys Jones, 22 Chris Bell.