Sale v Brive: Teams

Sale boss Steve Diamond has named his strongest line-up for the Amlin Challenge Cup pool decider against Brive.

Sale go into the game needing victory - and to deny the Top 14 side a bonus point - to secure their place in the quarter-finals, with Brive currently topping the pool by three points.

And following the comprehensive rout of Spanish minnows La Vila last time out, Diamond has recalled 10 players - and made a further three positional switches - for the mist-win clash.

Nick Macleod, Johnny Leota and Dwayne Peel come into a rejigged back division, with Joaquin Tuculet moving to the wing, Rob Miller slotting back in at full-back and Luther Burrell donning the No.12 jersey.

Andrei Ostrikov is the only player to keep his place in the pack, with the in-form David Seymour and Wales No.8 Andy Powell among those recalled.

Head coach Tony Hanks said: "The team are really looking forward to this game. The squad got the job done at La Vila. We were able to leave some guys behind who needed a bit of a break.

Respect

"They've enjoyed training this week and are full of enthusiasm. There's a good feeling in the camp about the opportunity we've got ahead of us. We know it's going to be a difficult assignment. We have a lot of respect for Brive.

"Effectively, we start the game 7-0 down, but this team wants to play in the quarter-final and this is like a play-off game for us."

Brive have also made wholesale changes following their 50-13 win over fellow countrymen Agen.

Clement Marienval, Julien Caminati, Arnaud Mignardi, Iuri Natriashvili, Antoine Claassen and Julien Le Devedec all come into the starting XV for the trip to Edgeley Park.

There is also a positional switch, with Poutasi Luafutu moving to the No.7 shirt to accommodate the return of Le Devedec.

Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Joaquin Tuculet, 10 Nick Macleod, 9 Dwayne Peel, 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Marc Jones, 3 Tony Buckley, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 6 James Gaskell, 7 David Seymour (capt), 8 Andy Powell.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Lee Imiolek, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Jordan Davies, 23 Richie Vernon.

Brive: 15 Clement Marienval, 14 Jacques Boussuge, 13 Julien Caminati, 12 Arnaud Mignardi, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Scott Spedding, 9 Augustin Figuerola, 1 Davit Khinchagishvili, 2 Iuri Natriashvili, 3 Alexandre Barozzi, 4 Thibault Dubarry, 5 Retief Uys, 6 Antoine Claassen, 7 Poutasi Luafutu, 8 Julien Le Devedec.
Replacements: 16 Louis Acosta, 17 Pablo Henn, 18 Pablo Cardinali, 19 Olivier Caisso, 20 Alexandre Bias, 21 Vincent Forgues, 22 Riaan Swanepoel, 23 Mathieu Belie.