Newcastle Red Bulls vs Sale Sharks teams: Curry brothers reunited as Dom Hanson makes first league start

Tom and Ben Curry will start together for Sale Sharks for the first time since June 2025 against Newcastle Red Bulls on Friday, with scrum-half Dom Hanson handed his first Premiership start.

Hanson partners George Ford at Kingston Park after Gus Warr was ruled out with a minor calf strain. The Round 4 fixture kicks off at 7.45pm BST on Friday 23 October.

Newcastle select Will Rigg at inside centre for his first Premiership appearance for the club, while Christian Wade starts on the right wing as he closes in on the competition’s try-scoring record.

Curry brothers return to the same starting XV

Alex Sanderson makes four changes following Sale’s 47–27 Champions Cup defeat by Glasgow Warriors.

Tom Curry starts at number eight alongside Ben at openside flanker, with Christ Tshiunza completing the back row. Hanson and Tom O’Flaherty are the other players brought into the starting side.

Sale’s team announcement confirms Warr’s calf problem and lists Courtney Lawes as rested through rotation. Ernst van Rhyn captains the visitors from the second row.

Rigg makes Newcastle league bow as Wade approaches record

Newcastle have selected Rigg for his Premiership debut for the club, partnering Chris Harris in midfield. Brett Connon and Simón Benítez Cruz form the half-back pairing.

Wade joins Werner Kok and Josh Hodge in the back three. His hat-trick in Newcastle’s 34–28 defeat at Exeter took him to 100 Premiership tries, leaving him one short of Chris Ashton’s record of 101.

Newcastle are seeking their first league win after three defeats. Captain Tom Christie starts alongside Max Hicks and Hoskins Sotutu in the back row, with six forwards and two backs among the replacements.

Newcastle Red Bulls confirmed team

Backs: 15 Josh Hodge; 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Werner Kok; 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz.

Forwards: 1 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2 George McGuigan, 3 Elliot Millar-Mills; 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Cam Jordan; 6 Max Hicks, 7 Tom Christie (captain), 8 Hoskins Sotutu.

Replacements: 16 Zuriel Togiatama, 17 Tom West, 18 Francisco Moreno, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 21 Sam Graham, 22 James Elliott, 23 Zack Henry.

Sale Sharks confirmed team

Backs: 15 Joe Carpenter; 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty; 10 George Ford, 9 Dom Hanson.

Forwards: 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Tomas Francis; 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 5 Ben Bamber; 6 Christ Tshiunza, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Tom Curry.

Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Elia Canakaivata, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Alex Lozowski, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Arron Reed.