Sale v L Irish: Teams
Both Sale and London Irish view their clash at Edgeley Park as must-win if they are to achieve their respective ambitions.
Last Updated: 09/05/08 1:34pm
Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint Andre has described his side's final game of the regular season against London Irish as a Premiership play-off quarter-final.
The Sharks go into the final round of matches holding on to the fourth and final play-off spot - so a win will guarantee them a place in the season finale.
And with Harlequins and Leicester still desperately hoping to break into the top four, Saint Andre knows his side can't afford to slip up.
He said: "This game is like a quarter-final, we need to win to build on last week's great victory at the Stoop.
"London Irish will, however, be tough opponents. They have a good side and were unlucky in the Heineken Cup semi-finals when they narrowly lost to Toulouse.
"They have a very good record against us and I am sure they will be looking to finish their season on a high.
"The weather forecast is good, for a change, and I would like to see a big crowd turn up for this final home game of the season."
Saint Andre has made just two changes to his line-up, with Lionel Faure and Neil Briggs replacing Andrew Sheridan and Sebastien Bruno in the front row.
Sheridan and Bruno drop to the bench, where they are joined by Mark Cueto.
London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith insists there is still plenty for his side to play for despite needing a minor miracle to qualify for next season's Heineken Cup.
The Exiles need a win and for Leicester to lose against Harlequins without picking up a bonus point for Irish to move into sixth spot.
Confident
Smith's charges would then need Bath to beat Worcester Warriors in the European Challenge Cup final to see them qualify for European rugby's premier club competition.
Irish's hopes will not be helped by the fact opponents Sale need a win to rubber stamp their place in the Premiership play-offs.
But Smith remains confident that fate will be smiling on his side.
He said: "We're going into our last game of the season and there is still lots to play for.
"It's possible for us to finish in sixth place in the Premiership and secure a Heineken Cup place for next season. If we're to do that then we must win on Saturday and hope that results elsewhere go our way.
"Sale have shown the true potential of their strong squad this season. They have been in the top half of the league for most of the season and deservedly so. Whatever position you look at there are talented, experienced players that are well coached by Philippe Saint Andre and Kingsley Jones and who always perform well at home.
"It's been a special season for London Irish. We've played some great rugby and that's a credit to our players. We want to finish with a performance that we can be proud of and that will require us to re-produce the form we showed in the home game with Sale earlier in the season."
Irish have made four changes of personnel with Peter Hewat returning to full-back, Shane Geraghty named at inside centre, Tonga Lea'aetoa starting in the front row and Phil Murphy set for his final game for the club at No.8.
Sharks: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Selorm Kuadey, 13 Chris Bell, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Andy Vilk, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 1 Lionel Faure, 2 Neil Briggs, 3 Stuart Turner, 4 Chris Jones, 5 Brent Cockbain, 6 Jason White (c), 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 8 Sebastien Chabal.
Replacements: 16 Sebastien Bruno, 17 Andrew Sheridan, 18 Eifion Roberts, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Michael Hills, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Mark Cueto.
London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Shane Geraghty, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Eoghan Hickey, 9 Paul Hodgson, 1 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 David Paice, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 4 James Hudson, 5. Bob Casey (c), 6 Declan Danaher, 7 Steffon Armitage, 8 Phil Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Clarke Dermody, 17 Stuart Mackie, 18 Dan Murphy, 19 Gary Johnson, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Tomas De Vedia.