Alex Sanderson discloses the 4 Sale players he expects to become Lions

Alex Sanderson, the Sale Sharks director of rugby, is backing Tom Curry, Luke Cowan-Dickie, George Ford and 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour to win places in the British and Irish Lions squad for Australia when it is named on Thursday in London.

Sanderson acknowledges his prediction is biased, but is confident that the quartet deserve the chance to travel to Australia for the three-Test series this summer.

“Traditionally, the Lions take in-form robust players, they take versatile players who can play in multiple positions and they always go for a few wildcards like your Asher’s who can play both sides, and when you are talking about robust in-form players then you can’t look much further than Tom Curry, Luke Cown-Dickie and George Ford from within our ranks,” he said.

“We will be travelling down in the coach to Leicester when the Lions squad is named, and we will revel and commiserate in equal measure depending on who gets selected and who misses out. Selection is something they have dealt with for a long time, and we train them to see it as not a setback but an opportunity to improve. I have been asked a lot about my opinion and there is nothing I can do or say that will make a difference in selection.”

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Leicester

44 - 34

Full-time

Sale

All Stats and Data

Sanderson, who has Ben Curry and Jonny Hill available for third-placed Sale against second-placed Leicester on Friday night, believes this match can push the winner close to securing a vital home match in the play-offs.

“Any team with aspirations for a home semi-final has to win this weekend, and we have those aspirations. We have analysed Leicester heavily and they are an increasingly pragmatic team, in terms of their chase-to-kick ratio, and have second second-best defence; all those things make you very competitive.

“Their efficiency in your 22 has blown some of the scoreboards out, and this is a team that if you don’t make all your shots count, you could find yourself on a hiding to nothing. We have looked back at last year (reaching the semi-finals) and taken confidence, but the challenge the year after is that the game has moved on. I think we are playing better rugby than this time last season. ”