Team news: Falcons side to face Bristol

Thursday 19 September 2024 Written by: Mark Smith

Newcastle Falcons have named their team for Friday’s Gallagher Premiership opener at home to Bristol Bears.

The Kingston Park clash is a 7.45pm kick-off and sees starting debuts for summer signings Connor Doherty (pictured) and Sammy Arnold in the centres, and Tom Gordon at open-side.

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Scrum-half Joe Davis is poised to make his first team bow from the bench at the age of just 18, with the Co. Durham native impressing during pre-season after graduating from Barnard Castle School.

Prop Luan de Bruin is also in line for his Falcons debut having been named among the replacements, while captain Callum Chick plays his 100^th Premiership game.

Summer arrival Cameron Neild misses out after breaking his arm in the Falcons’ only pre-season outing, with fellow signing Kieran Wilkinson also sidelined by an MCL injury picked up in the 40-39 loss at Sale Sharks.

Director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “We’ve had one pre-season game at Sale where we made six line-breaks and scored six tries from them, so from an attacking point of view we were unrecognisable from last year.

“Alan Dickens coming in as a senior coach has made a big difference because he’s got a wealth of Premiership coaching experience on both sides of the ball, and even though we conceded a few tries we believe the defensive system we’ve put in place is the right one. We did take some attrition with a number of injuries, losing the likes of Cam Neild (arm), Kieran Wilkinson (knee) and Alex Hearle (pec), but that’s just the nature of rugby and it means an opportunity for someone else.”

Having lost heavily at Ashton Gate in their last encounter with the Bears Diamond made no attempt to shirk away from the scoreline, although he insisted it has not been a feature of their build-up.

“There’s obviously been a lot of external chat around our scoreline against Bristol last season, which I do understand, but people forget they also put 50 points past Northampton, who went on to win the competition,” said the Newcastle boss.

“Of course nobody wants a defeat like that on their record and it’s a matter of basic pride to want to put it right, but I wouldn’t say it’s something we’ve spoken massively about in our preparation. Loads of those lads have moved on, it’s a new season and we’re going into it with a different mind-set.

“There’ll be some personal motivation of course for the guys who were involved in that game, but for me the main thing is to set our marker at home for 2024-25. We want to show our supporters that we will be highly competitive on a regular basis, but Bristol are a dangerous outfit and we’ll need to be at our best.”

Praising his charges going into Friday’s opener, Diamond added: “The lads have turned up in unbelievable condition for pre-season and carried those standards through the summer, they’ve worked really hard in training and I can’t criticise them at all in terms of how they’ve prepared.

“It’s once you start having that pressure of big games every week that you really find out what people are made of, but I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far and we’ll surprise a few people this year. One things for sure – we’re not here to make up the numbers.”

Confident that he has strengthened ahead of the big kick-off, the former hooker said: “I’m happy with my recruitment. We’re not in the market for ready-made top internationals because we can’t afford it, but what we do have are talented and hungry lads who can do a good job for us. Most of them are around that 25-29 age bracket with somewhere near 100 top-flight appearances, and they just want a chance.

“It’s no secret that we’re not shopping at Harrods for players, but we’ve recruited some really good lads who understand the mind-set that I want. Take Tom Gordon for example. He’s a URC champion who was sat behind Rory Darge at Glasgow so he knew his chances there were limited, but he’s a quality open-side. I signed him over the phone while I was on the M6 – he agreed to come there and then and we never once mentioned money.

“He made his debut against a stacked Sale Sharks side two weeks ago against loads of internationals, he was the best back-rower on the park and I honestly think he’s going to have a huge season. People are coming here for the right reasons. They’ll get game time, and we’re not warehousing loads of players.

“I’m really excited about what Sammy Arnold and Connor Doherty can add to our midfield, and despite what happened last season we’ve got some real quality already in the group. I don’t think there’s a better hooker in the comp than Jamie Blamire, Callum Chick is really standing up as a leader and Adam Radwan is in incredible nick. He’s setting PBs in the gym, he reminds me of Jason Robinson with his footwork and we need to be finding ways to get him into those one-on-one scenarios on a more regular basis, cos he’s electric.”

Forecasting attacking rugby in abundance, Diamond added: “We’re not going to be kicking the ball a whole lot. Of course if we’re in and around our 22 then it has to go into Row Z, but outside of that, if we kick, we’re kicking to compete.

“It’s not a regimented gameplan, and whilst we obviously have a framework, these lads are all intelligent rugby players and they’ve got a licence to play if it’s on. Yeah, there’ll be occasions where teams defend against us in a certain way and we’ve got to kick a bit of territory, but for the most part we want to entertain the fans and have a proper crack.

“It has to be that no-fear kind of mind-set, and I’m giving a debut to an 18-year-old in Joe Davis if he comes on from the bench. I think the kid’s going to be a revelation, and the thing with these talented young lads is you need to give them a go.

“We’ve got a massive catchment area full of genuine talent, and we’ve got to give them a platform. I don’t think many other Premiership coaches have that same mind-set, but I’ve got no dramas about chucking in the odd young ‘un. The main worry is three years down the line when Bath and Saracens come in and poach them, which we’re addressing behind the scenes, but our youngsters here know they’ll get a chance if they show us they’ve got what it takes.”

Tickets for Friday’s game are available by clicking here.

The match is also being shown live on Discovery+ and the TNT Sports red button.

Newcastle Falcons v Bristol Bears (Friday, Kingston Park, 7.45pm)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Richard Palframan, 4 John Hawkins, 5 Kiran McDonald, 6 Philip van der Walt, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Adam Scott, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Louis Brown, 23 Ben Redshaw.

Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Tim Cardall, Sebastian de Chaves, Alex Hearle, Cameron Neild, Pedro Rubiolo, Kieran Wilkinson.

Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Harry Thacker, 3 Max Lahiff, 4 James Dun, 5 Joe Batley, 6 Steven Luatua, 7 Jake Heenan, 8 Fitz Harding (captain).

Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 George Kloska, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joe Jenkins, 23 Rich Lane.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe.