Giant Kiwi Greg Rawlinson will have to bide his time before being handed a place in Worcester's starting line-up.

The Warriors go head-to-head with Sale Sharks in the Guinness Premiership at Sixways tonight but the New Zealand lock forward will start the match on the bench.

Director of rugby Mike Ruddock has kept faith in the forwards who played so well in last week's European Challenge Cup defeat of Montauban, with Phil Murphy and Craig Gillies - a try scorer against the French - packing down in the second row.

"Greg will not start, he is still waking up at three o'clock in the morning and having to get up and go for a walk as he gets over the jet lag," Ruddock explained.

"He's still catching up on moves and line-out calls too. He has had a break from playing, so conditioning-wise he is not quite ready to start and play 80 minutes at this intensity in such an important game.

"He is obviously a key player for us and we want him on the bench so we can bring him on at the weekend. Both Craig Gillies and Phil Murphy played very well against Montauban and, as good a player Greg is, he will still have to fight for his place."

There is a recall for Dale Rasmussen, who was rested for the back-to-back European ties, but a calf injury means there is no place for Samoan Loki Crichton. Chris Pennell retains his place at full-back after his impressive tryscoring display last week.

While Ruddock admits he is delighted by the boost in confidence following their run of three straight wins, he knows Sale will offer a stiff test.

"They're all crunch games in the league, but Sale are a bit like a who's who of rugby in terms of the Guinness Premiership," he said.

"It has been good to pick up three wins in a row but there is still room for improvement. We conceded three tries against Montauban and we

need to improve our defence. The main thing is having some confidence - it makes such a difference - and on the back of three wins we have a more confident squad now.

"We are not far away, but we will need to take a step up to beat Sale.

"They are a great team and most of their players will be back for this game - people like Andrew Sheridan, Julian White, obviously Sebastien Chabal too. Charlie Hodgson has been playing very well for them. You go through their team and they have got so many potential permutations.

"But if we can get in Sale's faces, take them on in the set-pieces, take them on with our line speed and defence and really pressurise eight, nine, 10 and their outside backs through our defence, then we've got a chance.

"We are really looking forward to it and the boys are up for the challenge. We have had a really good look at Sale and studied them hard this week and hopefully we can get our first league win of the season."

WORCESTER: Pennell, Delport, Ramussen, Tucker, Garvey, Drahm, Powell; Morris, Lutui, Taumoepeau, Murphy, Gillies, Wood, Sanderson, Talei. Replacements: Mullan, Fortey, Rawlinson, Horstmann, Runciman, Feaunati, Carlisle.

* Veteran prop Tony Windo is to take on a player-coach role at Sixways.

The 38-year-old, the second oldest player in the Premiership, will play a key role in helping the next generation of Warriors by working with the academy section.

"Tony is a model professional and a great example to any young players so we're delighted he has agreed this role," said Ruddock.

"His influence at the club over the many years he has been involved has been a very positive one. He is the sort of character we want to keep here to develop a Leicester Tigers type of back-room."

* Worcester back row Drew Hickey must face a disciplinary hearing after being sent off during his club's 'A' fixture against Newcastle.

Hickey was shown two yellow cards in the 31-26 defeat and has been charged with dangerous play in the line-out and a dangerous tackle.

The date of the hearing has yet to be confirmed.