Saracens v Sale: Teams
Saracens will attempt to put their troubled week behind them when they entertain Sale in the Premiership.
Last Updated: 27/02/09 2:43pm
Saracens will attempt to put their troubled week behind them when they entertain Sale in the Premiership.
The players were rocked by news that half the squad could be axed when Brendan Venter takes over in the summer.
However, current director of rugby Eddie Jones insists that it is business as usual - with the club's objectives from the start of the season remaining the same.
"It's been a tough week for everyone at the club but as a group we've sat down and talked about the fact that we set out a number of objectives at the start of the season and they haven't changed," said Jones.
"We want to finish in the top four of the Guinness Premiership and also maintain a strong challenge in Europe and our current position in both of those competitions means we can still do that.
"There is no doubt that we have some work to do in terms of our league challenge. In the past two games against Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons, we have played well in the first half of the games but didn't take our chances and as a result, paid the price when our second half displays were not as good. That is something we have to address on Sunday.
Quality
"We've got an exciting finish to the Guinness Premiership season with games against Bath, Leicester and Wasps at Vicarage Road and of course, Sunday's game against Sale. Having been top of the table last weekend, albeit for a few hours, we know the quality of the opposition we are facing.
"Even without their internationals on Six Nations duty, Sale still have an impressive squad so we are expecting a hard-fought game, but it's a game we believe we can win."
Jones has handed recalls to Noah Cato, Kameli Ratuvou and Chris Jack for the match, with Kris Chesney and David Seymour named on the bench.
Sale chief Kingsley Jones will be looking for his side to end its run of bad form at Vicarage Road.
The Sharks have recorded just one win in 12 attempts at the ground - with their 40-32 win in September 2005 their last success.
"We are well aware of events that have happened at Saracens this week but we are going to Vicarage Road to try and win the game," said Jones
"It's not been a happy hunting ground for us in the past and I am sure they will make it tough for us on Sunday."
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Noah Cato, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Justin Marshall, 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Wikus van Heerden (c), 5 Hugh Vyvyan, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Cencus Johnston, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Nick Lloyd.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Cobus Visagie, 18 Kris Chesney, 19 David Seymour, 20 Mickey Wilson, 21 Brad Barritt, 22 Rodd Penney.
Sale: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Chris Bell, 13 Rudi Keil, 12 Lee Thomas, 11 David Doherty, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 JM Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Luke Abraham, 6 Chris Jones, 5 Brent Cockbain, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Eifion Roberts, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Stuart Turner, 18 Sean Cox, 19 David Tait, 20 Chris Leck, 21 Oriol Ripol, 22 Selorm Kuadey.