Falcons search for winning recipe
Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:09
Newcastle Falcons have made three changes to their side, as they make the Guinness Premiership trip to Harlequins on Saturday.
The only change to the pack is in the back row where Andy Buist comes in for Russell Winter, Buist slotting in at flank as captain Phil Dowson moves round to the No.8 spot.
In the backs Hall Charlton replaces England Saxons scrumhalf Lee Dickson who picked up a knock to the thigh against Leeds last Friday, while an injury to Jamie Noon in the same game sees Ollie Phillips come onto the right wing as Mathew Tait moves to outside centre and Tom May drops to fullback.
On the bench there is a return for the fit-again Geoff Parling after recent knee trouble, for a game which has already been confirmed as a sell-out at the Twickenham Stoop.
Coming in to Saturday's game on the back of conceding the fastest try in Premiership history at Leeds last week, interim Director of Rugby Steve Bates said: "It was the worst start you could imagine to a game, and it's fair to say we've been practicing a lot of kick-off receipts this week.
"Having said that, it was about as much of a freak try as you are ever likely to see with the way the wind caught the ball and how it bounced straight in to the guy's arms, but giving any side a seven-point head start obviously puts you at a massive disadvantage which we will not be repeating.
"The pleasing aspect was how well the boys rallied for the remaining 39 minutes of the half and put themselves in an excellent position to take the game with the wind at their backs.
"What the players needed to do in that second half was stick to the game plan we had talked about rather than playing the way we did after half-time, and we have been working on that all this week in training."
Having suffered defeat in both of his games at the helm, Bates said: "We are in a professional environment and this is a results-driven business, so however much the performance may have been an improvement on the Bristol game, we are acutely aware it's victories that matter.
"Losing to any club, whether it's the bottom or the top team, is a bad result.
I accept that, and it is taken as read by the players. Our job is to win rugby matches, and we understand the consequences if we don't do that, but having said all that there is no point dwelling on it, because we have a big test at Harlequins on Saturday to look forward to."
With England centre Jamie Noon among those to miss out this weekend, Bates said of the injury situation: "Jamie was very close for this game after taking a blow to his shin/ankle area early on at Leeds, and should hopefully be okay for next week.
"Russell Winter was another for whom this game just came a couple of days too early, having also suffered an ankle injury, Alex Tait has a tear to his hamstring which rules him out and then Lee Dickson with his hip was the other injury problem arising from the Leeds game."
Coming up against a Quins side regarded as one of the form horses in the Guinness Premiership, Bates stated: "I watched their game last week against Bristol, which was a very even contest until they got two late tries, and we know that if we perform on the day then this game is there for the taking.
"What we need to do is get ourselves in the contest, and from there it's up to us to deliver.
"We're aware of their strengths, they have a good scrum and they go hard at the ball, but they are also applying more width to their game. A lot could depend on the conditions, which don't look like being great, and the task for us is to compete up front against what is a very good Quins pack."
With the Falcons keen to repeat the success from their last visit to the London area, a December victory at Saracens, Bates added: "There has been a change of tactics which the players are getting used to, but they are very capable and they are adapting gradually.
"The key is turning pressure in to points when we do have spells where we dominate teams, but the attitude in training has been outstanding and we're expecting a big performance this weekend."
Newcastle: 15 Tom May, 14 Ollie Phillips, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Toby Flood, 11 John Rudd, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Hall Charlton, 8 Phil Dowson (captain), 7 Ben Woods, 6 Andy Buist, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Andy Perry, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Micky Ward.
Replacements: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 Jon Golding, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Brent Wilson, 20 Ed Williamson, 21 James Grindal, 22 Tim Visser.
Date: Saturday, 29 March
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 17.00 GMT
Referee: Martin Fox
Touch judges: David Kurk, Paul Dickens
Television match official: Bob Ockenden
With thanks to
guinnesspremiership.com
