Newcastle Red Bulls v Sale Sharks team news: Curry twins to start together for the first time in 16 months

Prem Rugby's derby weekend gets underway on Friday night, with the two most Northern top-flight English clubs set to face off.

Both sides had poor 2025/26 Prem Rugby campaigns, with pressure particularly mounting on Sale Sharks head coach Alex Sanderson.

However, in their own ways, both sides have shown significant promise at the start of the new season, with Sale winning two of their three matches and Newcastle earning four points from theirs.

Both sides will be desperate for points and bragging rights in this fixture, as rugby union in the North of the country continues to grow in prominence.

The headline inclusion for the hosts is the return of bustling centre Will Rigg, who partners Chris Harris in the centres.

Josh Hodge starts at 15, alongside Werner Kok and Christian Wade - who is closing in on the record for the most Prem tries of all time - in the back three.

Brett Connon and Simón Benítez Cruz are named at half back, behind a pack which features a front row of Pouri Rakete-Stones, George McGuigan and Elliot Millar Mills.

Oscar Usher and Cam Jordan are the lock pairing, with captain Tom Christie joined in the back row by Max Hicks and summer coup Hoskins Sotutu.

For the Sharks, Ben and Tom Curry have been named to start together for the first time since June 2025, alongside Christ Tshiunza in an international class back row.

Ben Bamber joins captain Ernst van Rhyn in the second row, behind a front three of Nicky Smith, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tomas Francis.

Dom Hansen joins George Ford at half back, inside of a centre pairing of Joe Marchant and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, while Joe Carpenter, Tom Roebuck and Tom O’Flaherty make up the back three.

Newcastle Red Bulls team news

Starting XV: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2 George McGuigan, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Cam Jordan, 6 Max Hicks, 7 Tom Christie (c), 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 team news

Starting XV: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Dom Hanson; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 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.