EXETER Chiefs welcome back South African powerhouse Jacques Vermeulen for their big Premiership game against second-place Sale Sharks at Sandy Park tomorrow (1pm).

The back rower has not played since November, but returns in a home pack that also includes starting spots for lock Jack Dunne and No.8 Sam Simmonds.

Behind the scrum, the back division - which includes new dad and captain, Jack Nowell - remains unchanged from that which defeated Gloucester in the Premiership earlier this month.

On the bench, scrum-half Jack Maunder will make his 100th Premiership appearance if called upon, whilst there are also inclusions for Jack Yeandle, Danny Southworth, Tom Hendrickson and recent signing Mike Williams, who made his Chiefs debut in the recent semi-final against the Sharks.

The Chiefs are without five players on Six Nations duty - Henry Slade, Stuart Hogg, Jonny Gray, Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins.

England fly-half George Ford will start a Premiership game for Sale for the first time, while Tom Roebuck, Ryan Mills and Coenie Oosthuizen return to the side as Alex Sanderson makes five changes to his starting line-up.

After appearing as a replacement in the defeat to Northampton last weekend, Ford takes the number 10 shirt, meaning the league’s top points scorer, Rob du Preez, switches to outside centre alongside Mills.

After returning from international duty with England and Scotland respectively, Bevan Rodd and Ewan Ashman line up in the front row alongside Oosthuizen.

Two former Chiefs are included in the Sale starting line-up – Jonny Hill and Tom O'Flaherty.

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter believes the fight for a spot in this season’s Premiership play-offs will be intense, such is the closeness of the current standings and the competitiveness of the division.

"We have seven games left and they will go in the blink of an eye,” he said. “Also, with the way the table is, every week is going to be a standalone fixture for sides. This Sunday’s game is exciting, not just because it’s a good match-up between two top sides, but if we can get a result against Sale, then back up our bye week, then we start to close the gap on them and that fight for a top four spot.

“When you look at things, you can’t go for one without the other. Equally, every other club will be thinking the same, so all of us have to be ambitious enough to get up the table as far as we can, simply because that will give you the best chance of being in the top four.”