McAlister to captain Sale Sharks
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:47
Director of Rugby Philippe Saint Andre has named All Black utility back Luke McAlister as captain for the Sale Sharks team to play Montpellier in the Challenge Vaquerin on Saturday.
Rory Lamont (shoulder) and Dean Schofield (knee) are missing from the starting line-up.
Saint Andre confirmed that injuries affected his selection.
"Both players [Lamont and Schofield] received knocks on Wednesday, but neither are long term problems; in fact Dean may be on the bench tomorrow [Saturday]," Saint Andre said.
"Luke McAlister will captain the side and Oriol Ripol will fill in for Rory Lamont at fullback. This will be Oriol's first game back after breaking his arm at Bath in April.
"The whole squad have bonded well on the trip and as with Wednesday, the youngsters have a big chance to prove themselves ahead of the Leeds and Lyon games. In those home games I am looking to introduce the senior players including Mathew Tait and Dwayne Peel."
Sale Sharks: 15 Oriol Ripol, 14 Selorm Kuadey, 13 Luke McAlister (captain), 12 Lee Thomas, 11 David Doherty, 10 Nick McLeod, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Carl Fearns, 7 Michael Hills, 6 Alex Shaw, 5 Brent Cockbain, 4 Sean Cox, 3 Ross Davies, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Stuart Turner.
Replacements - from: Neil Briggs, Marc Jones, J Jones, Eifion Roberts, Martin Halsall, Adrian Kennedy, Chris Leck, Dean Schofield.
Date: Saturday, August 9
Venue: La Stade Yves du Manoir, Montpellier
Kick-off: 18.00 (16.00 GMT)
