London Irish v Sale: Teams

Sale Sharks director of rugby Kingsley Jones has made 11 changes to the side that defeated Wasps ahead of their trip to face London Irish.

The Welshman welcomes back his international trio of Mark Cueto, Mathew Tait and Dwayne Peel into the starting XV as he re-jigs his back-line.

Cueto replaces the injured Marika Vakacegu (elbow) at full-back, with David Bishop and Tait forming a new centre-partnership pairing, as John Kennedy drops to the bench with Nick Macleod (hand) ruled out through injury.

Gavin Kerr and Marc Jones are drafted into the front row, in-place of the injured Eifion Roberts (ankle) and Neil Briggs respectively- who drops out of the match day squad completely.

Also in the pack, there's a new look second row with Sean Cox and Brent Cockbain occupying the lock berths. Only Sisa Koyamaibole retains his place in the back-row switching from the flank to the Number 8 jersey.

Jones will look for victory to increase the gap between his side and Worcester to avoid relegation - sitting just two points above the drop zone.

He said: "We're glad to welcome back our international players - Mark Cueto, Mathew Tait and Dwayne Peel - to the side, and are looking forward to building on the good performance and win over London Wasps.

"Irish are always a tough, physical side who will also be welcoming back some very good, experienced professionals.

Challenge

"The game will present us with a very difficult challenge to which we are all looking forward, and we are desperate to gain some momentum for the final six games of the season."

Bob Casey will reach a landmark 200th appearance for London Irish when he leads his team out at the Madejski Stadium.

In the back-line there's two changes-one positional- with Peter Hewat returning to full-back with Delon Armitage taking his place on the wing as Tom Homer drops to the bench.

In the forwards Kieran Roache is named at lock in place of Nick Kennedy, in an otherwise unchanged pack from the side that lost at Leicester.

London Irish head coach Toby Booth is expecting a tough match despite the two teams battling at the opposite ends of the table.

He said: "We have a talented, quality squad and are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting on with the job in hand on Sunday.

"Despite Sale's current league position, they will pose a formidable challenge on Sunday. Both teams have everything to play for, we're striving to maintain our top four challenge, while Sharks are trying to climb out of the relegation zone.

"We're expecting the biggest crowd of the season to date at Madejski Stadium so there will be a great atmosphere for what will be a compelling contest."

London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat, 14 John Rudd, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Delon Armitage, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 George Stowers, 5 Bob Casey (captain), 4 Kieran Roche, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Buckland, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Danie Coetzee, 17 James Tideswell, 18 Alex Corbisiero, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Chris Malone, 22 Mike Catt, 23 Tom Homer.

Sale: 15 Mark Cueto, 14 Dafydd James, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 David Bishop, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Charlie Hodgson (capt), 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Sisaro Koyamaibole, 7 David Seymour, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Brent Cockbain, 3 Jack Forster, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Lee Imiolek, 18 Martin Halsall, 19 Rob O'Donnell, 20 Luke Abraham, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Chris Leck, 23 Jonny Kennedy.