Butch James is set to make his long awaited return from injury and Sale Sharks Skills and Defence Coach Brad Davis believes that the fly half will inject some extra confidence into the team when they face Sale Sharks.
"It's a boost for the team to have Butch back," admitted Davis. "It has been a long time coming. It will be great for him to get back out on the field and do what he does best - play rugby."
Although Scott Hobson will miss this Saturday's clash due to a sprained ankle sustained against Leicester, Guy Mercer, Nathan Catt and Josh Ovens have another chance to showcase their talent tomorrow.
"The young guns did a great job against Leicester last weekend," said Davis. "A few of them had put their hands up to say that they were ready to take the next step and they definitely took the chance to impress.
"This Saturday, those players have another opportunity to really stake their claim and enhance their reputations and I am sure that they will do well."
Meanwhile Sale Sharks have also named their team and outside centre Jordan Davies is set to make his debut, whilst fly half Mark Atkinson will make his first senior start.
On the bench, prop Dan Birchall and the Oxford University pair Ian Kench and Alex Cheeseman will make their Sharks’ debuts if they enter the field of play.
Sharks’ Director of Rugby Kingsley Jones said, "We go to Bath trying to return to winning ways. It’s very important to the club that we start winning after some hard games recently. Bath’s a great play to go and play, and a tough place to win.
"There are opportunities for some younger guys, and for players looking for contract renewals and the chance to play in the rest of the Guinness Premiership programme.
"Ultimately, we feel that freshening the team with some new faces, playing with experienced forwards, gives us the best chance to go to The Rec. and get a win. Obviously, we have to look at other teams’ results, but we still have a chance of making the semi final."
Bath vs Sale Sharks
Venue: The Rec
Date: Saturday, February 6 2010
Kick-off: 14.15
Teams
Bath:
15. Nick Abendanon , 14. Jack Cuthbert , 13. Matt Carraro , 12. Ryan Davis , 11. Michael Stephenson , 10. Butch James , 9. Scott Bemand , 1. David Barnes , 2. Pieter Dixon , 3. Duncan Bell , 4. Stuart Hooper (c) , 5. Peter Short , 6. Daniel Browne , 7. Guy Mercer , 8. Ben Skirving
16. Lee Mears , 17. Nathan Catt , 18. Aaron Jarvis , 19. Jonny Faamatuainu , 20. Josh Ovens , 21. Mike Baxter , 22. Tom Cheeseman , 23 Joe Maddock ,
Sale Sharks :
Marika Vakacegu; Oriol Ripol, Jordan Davies, David Bishop, Ben Cohen; Mark Atkinson, Chris Leck; Gavin Kerr, Mahonri Schwalger, Martin Halsall, Dean Schofield (capt), Sean Cox, Carl Fearns, David Seymour, Kristian Ormsby.
Replacements: Marc Jones, Rob O’Donnell, Dan Birchall, Chris Jones, Ian Kench, Will Cliff, Alex Cheeseman, David Doherty.
On standby: Ben Roberts, Ed Styles.
