Wales and British Lions scrum-half Peel and former Welsh Under-21 fly-half Macleod have each signed new two-year contracts while ex-Wales Under-20 hooker Jones has penned a one-year extension.

Following Saturday’s final LV Cup group game at home to Scarlets, Sale face three crucial Premiership games before the month is out with home games against struggling Worcester and Wasps being sandwiched by a trip to Northampton.

The group finale will effectively be a winner-takes-all shoot-out with the sting in the tail that Sale have to beat their top 14 opponents by eight points or more to leapfrog Brive in the table and seal a place in the quarter-finals.

After getting their European campaign off to the worst possible start by losing in Brive in early November, three successive bonus point wins have put the Sharks back in the driving seat in terms of topping their group and reaching the last eight.

Boxing Day’s 27-19 triumph at home to Newcastle helped fire the resurgent Sharks back into the top four of the Premiership in front of more than 9,000 fans – Sale’s biggest home attendance in two and half years.

Last weekend's decisive 41-21 Amlin Cup demolition job on Agen made it three wins from three in December for the Sharks and another victory against the Falcons would not complete a perfect month but would also fire Sale back into the top four of the Premiership going into the New Year.

First up this Sunday, the Sharks play host to French side Agen in their latest Amlin Cup group clash where another victory on the back of last week’s notable 29-14 triumph in France would further boost their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

The Amlin Cup group clash in southern France has turned into a virtual shoot-out with both clubs having already tasted defeat by Brive. It means the stakes are deliciously simple for Sale.

From a seemingly impregnable 20-0 lead, Sale somehow contrived to lose last Friday’s Premiership encounter with Exeter 30-23 – a result which Diamond described as one of the biggest disappointments in his 20 year career as a player and coach.

The Sharks are still smarting from last weekend’s 26-18 opening Amlin Cup defeat away at Brive which has already put Sale firmly on the back foot in terms of trying to qualify for the quarter-finals.

The 22-year-old Glasgow Warriors lock has penned a three-year deal with Sale and will join the club next June.

A 34-13 home reverse at the hands of the powerful East Midlanders served as a sobering reminder that a new-look Sale are still very much a work in progress in spite of their impressive start to the Premiership campaign.

And, after undergoing a fourth shoulder operation in less than two years, the powerhouse prop says if he can prove his fitness to Sharks supremo Steve Diamond, he wants to further extend his eight-year stay at Edgeley Park.

The Edgeley Park LV= Cup encounter offers Diamond and his players a chance to kick-start their cup challenge following last weekend’s hugely disappointing 58-27 defeat away at holders Gloucester in their opening pool match.

Last Saturday’s 13-11 triumph over Gloucester at a rain-drenched Edgeley Park lifted Sale up into third place in the Premiership.