SALE V DRAGONS (Tonight 7.45)

PROP Scott Roberts is handed his debut for table-topping Newport Gwent Dragons in tonight’s LV Cup game against Sale at Edgeley Park.

The Dragons head their group after two games and if they can get the better of Sale and follow up by beating the Scarlets at Rodney Parade a week on Sunday they will be in their first semi-final since they travelled to France to face Clermont Auvergne in what is now the Amlin Challenge Cup back in April 2007.

Roberts is drafted in after Ben Castle suffered a knee injury against Glasgow last Sunday and Nigel Hall is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“We’ve known about Scott for quite a while, he was with the Blues and Coventry and he played for them against us in a pre-season friendly the year before last,” said Dragons coach Paul Turner.

“I’ve watched him playing for Bedwas a couple of times and he was on the bench for us in the postponed Cardiff Blues game. He’s been training with us and he’s taken to it like a duck to water.”

Returning trio Martyn Thomas, Matthew Watkins and Joe Bearman all start, as expected, after lengthy spells on the sidelines, while there are also starts for half backs Matthew Jones and Jonathan Evans and back row forward Hugo Ellis.

Pat Leach makes only his second start in his recognised centre position having filled in at full back with Will Harries, who also reverts to his preferred place on the wing.

In the absence of Gavin Thomas and Robin Sowden-Taylor, Lewis Evans will play at openside flanker, a role he has occupied before.

The side will be led by hooker Steve Jones, who has done the job in the past, Turner saying: “He’s a good bloke, the players respect him and he’ll put his body on the line.

“I’m quite excited at giving a number of players the opportunity, it gives players like Matthew Jones, Jonathan Evans, Pat Leach, Pat Palmer and Hugo Ellis an opportunity to push for places against the Scarlets and then key Magners League games.

“We’re going to have it tough with one home game (Edinburgh) and three away (Aironi and Glasgow within the space of five days and Munster), but it will give us a good home run at the end of the season.”

Among the players who are rested tonight are Tom Willis, Luke Charteris, Ashley Smith, Wayne Evans, Jason Tovey and Adam Hughes, while Wales squad pair Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau, who is injured anyway, are not available and Ben Castle is also injured.

Sale have every incentive because if an English team wins this competition it is a passport into the Heineken Cup, but Turner still says: “I’d love to take our supporters to a semi-final and this is a chance to do that. It’s not ideal after a British and Irish Cup game in midweek and losing against Glasgow, but it’s an opportunity to get back to playing some rugby.”

Turner returns to one of his previous clubs, though Sale were based at Heywood Road then, while the match brings the curtain down on Kingsley Jones’ seven-year spell at the club.

Dragons team: M Thomas, W Harries, M Watkins, P Leach, A Brew, M Jones, J Evans, S Roberts, S Jones (captain), P Palmer, S Morgan, R Sidoli, J Bearman, H Ellis, L Evans. Replacements: L Burns, P Price, G Robinson, A Jones, G Thomas, M Petri, J Tovey, A Hughes.

Sale include scrum half Dwayne Peel, who is bidding for a Wales recall and has been named in Wales’ Six Nations squad.

Sale team: N Macleod, I Thornley, J Kennedy, C Bell, aB Cohen, R Miller, D Peel, L Imiolek, M Jones, H Thomas, C Jones, N Rouse, S Cox, C Fearns, S Koyamaibole. Replacements: B Roberts, A Croall, S McIntyre, W Lewaravu, C Brightwell, W Cliff, A Tuilagi, P Williams.