Sale v Wasps: Teams

England fly-half Charlie Hodgson returns to the Sale line-up for the visit of Wasps on Friday.

Hodgson will take over the reins at fly-half after missing the opening weeks of the campaign with a knee injury.

And head coach Mike Brewer admitted it was a boost to have the experienced No.10 back in the fold.

"It's great to have Charlie back. In Monday's training run, he added another dimension to our game," he said.

"A player of Charlie's experience is more than just what he executes as our fly-half. It's also his game management and overall decision-making which is invaluable."

Brewer has also handed a debut to former Harlequins flanker Neil McMillan, with Chris Brightwell included on the bench for the first time. Andy Tuilagi has also recovered from injury to start in the centres.

Switches

Wasps director of rugby Tony Hanks has reacted to the defeat to Gloucester by making a number of changes to his side.

Hanks has made five changes of personnel and a couple of positional switches as he looks for a positive response from his side.

Richard Haughton, Ben Jacobs, Ben Broster, Andy Powell and captain Tom Rees all come into the starting XV, with Dan Ward-Smith moving to the second row and Dominic Waldouck wearing the No.12 shirt.

Riki Flutey and Simon Shaw are rested, while Phil Vickery has been ruled out through injury.

Former Worcester prop Shaun Ruwer is included on the bench after agreeing a four-month contract at the club.

Sale Sharks:15 Paul Williams, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Ben Cohen, 12 Andy Tuilagi, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Kristian Ormsby. 7 Neil McMillan, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 James Gaskell (capt.), 4 Nic Rouse, 3 Jack Forster, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Karena Wihongi.
Replacements:16 Marc Jones, 17 Aston Croall, 18 Lee Imiolek, 19 Wame Lewaravu, 20 Chris Brightwell, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Chris Bell.

Wasps: 15 Richard Haughton, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Dominic Waldouck, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Tom Rees (c), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Richard Birkett, 4 Dan Ward-Smith, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Shaun Ruwers, 19 James Cannon, 20 Serge Betsen, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Mark Van Gisbergen.