“It’s fourth against sixth, and if we genuinely want to push into that top four then these are the kinds of games we need to be winning,” said Richards, whose team go into the second half of the regular season in the top half of the standings.

“It’ll be hard over there, for sure. In Lood de Jager they have a world class second row who played really well last weekend in beating Exeter, and they bring huge physicality.

“They’ll want to get one over us after we beat them earlier on in the season with a try at the death, and it’ll be a proper rugby battle. Like with any game we’ll go into it with the firm belief we can win, and we’ll see where that takes us.

“Sale will be expecting a tough game, just as we are. Nobody plays against Newcastle now thinking we’re a walkover, and opposition teams aren’t surprised by the physicality and quality we can bring to the table.”

Cobus Wiese moves into the starting line-up at blindside flanker, with the South African making his first appearance in the back row since Sale faced Wasps in December 2020.