Director of rugby: Kingsley Jones
Captain: Dean Schofield
Ground: Edgeley Park (10,641 capacity)
Last season: GP - 5th HC - Group stages
England elite squad: 3 (Tait, Cueto, Sheridan)

The close season has not been kind to Sale with the loss of a host of key players in Luke McAlister, Sebastien Chabal, former skippers Jason White and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, and internationals Sebastien Bruno and Rory Lamont.

Kingsley Jones has stepped up from head coach to replace Philippe Saint-Andre, but the Welshman will do well to keep the Sharks in the top-six mix.

But with new arrivals such as Ben Cohen and David Seymour joining the likes of Mathew Tait, Mark Cueto, Charlie Hodgson and Andrew Sheridan, Edgeley Park - never an easy place to win - is not without hope.

"In many ways, we're in a better position this year than we were last year to compete on more fronts. We've got less international call-ups so we've got more players. If we can finish in the top four it will be a massive achievement."
Director of rugby Kingsley Jones