Lawes, Marchant and Lozowski handed Sale Sharks debuts in PREM Rugby Cup opener against Bath

Sale Sharks will hand debuts to three England internationals when they host Bath in their PREM Rugby Cup opener on Sunday, with head coach Alex Sanderson naming a full-strength XV rather than using the early-season competition as a run-out for fringe players.

Loose forward Courtney Lawes and centre/wing Joe Marchant both arrive from France as high-profile summer signings, while fly-half Alex Lozowski returns to the north of England after a career that took in Leeds, Wasps and Saracens. All three go straight into the starting line-up.

England props Bevan Rodd and the back-three pairing of Tom Roebuck and Joe Carpenter are also named, alongside Scotland internationals Gus Warr at scrum-half and Arron Reed on the wing, underlining the ambition of Sale’s selection.

Two further summer recruits, lock Christ Tshiunza and scrum-half Xavier Roe, begin on the bench and will make their own competitive bows when they come on. Ernst van Rhyn retains the captaincy and partners Ben Bamber in a physically imposing second row.

Bath arrive at the AJ Bell Stadium having opened their pre-season with a 53-42 defeat away to Perpignan. The visitors will be confident of their cup pedigree against this opponent, however — they completed a double over Sale in last season’s competition, winning 20-0 at home before a commanding 60-19 victory in Salford on their way to the semi-finals.

Sale Sharks starting XV: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Alex Lozowski, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Nathan Jibulu, 3. Tye Raymont, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Jacques Vermeulen.

Replacements: 16. Alfie Longstaff, 17. Ralph McEachran, 18. Patreece Bell, 19. Christ Tshiunza, 20. Tristan Woodman, 21. Xavier Roe, 22. Ollie Davies, 23. Marius Louw.