Rugby
Falcons face Brive
10 January 2008
Newcastle Falcons welcome back All Black prop Joe McDonnell for Friday’s European Challenge Cup clash at French side Brive (kick-off 7pm French time/6pm UK time). The Kiwi takes the place of Jon Golding at loose head, in one of just two personnel changes from the starting XV which defeated Worcester last weekend. The other player coming in is South African No.8 Russell Winter, who captains the side as Geoff Parling drops to the bench. England centre Jamie Noon remains in Newcastle for family reasons, while the Falcons back division sees Mathew Tait moved to outside centre as Tom May drops to fullback and Tim Visser pushes on to the wing.
Having decided to leave Noon in Newcastle while his daughter Elodie recovers from an accident, director of rugby John Fletcher said: “The situation with Jamie is that his daughter sees a doctor on Friday, the day we play out in France. This trip would have meant being away from home for four days when he obviously needs to be with his family. We both felt it wasn't the right thing to do to take him away from home in that situation. Maybe had the game been in Newcastle he would have been involved, but these sorts of things are more important than rugby and we just wish Jamie and his family well.”
With Winter set to captain the side, explaining his choice, Fletcher said: “Every time Russell has played for this club he's played well, although it's no reflection on Geoff Parling, who has also been producing some top rugby this season. Phil Dowson the club captain is on the bench, Jamie Noon is at home, Geoff Parling is on the bench and Joe McDonnell is just coming back after a few weeks out of the side, so we just felt that Russell was the right person to lead the side in to this game. I don't think it will make any huge difference to how we go about things on the day, but Russell is a vastly experienced player who has captained most of the sides he has been part of during his career. He leads from the front, does the right things and he was delighted to be asked when I mentioned it to him earlier in the week.”
With McDonnell also coming in to the team, Fletcher said: “Joe hasn't played for a couple of weeks, so he is fresh physically and chomping at the bit for some rugby. This is an ideal chance to bring him in and freshen things up a bit, and we expect him to play a significant part in the game.”
Having lost heavily in Brive last year, Fletcher insisted that this time round it would be a different story, stating: “I feel as if the squad has moved forward massively from where we were when we played out in Brive last season, and I am expecting a much higher standard of performance. We go in to this game on the back of two Premiership wins, but we know we have to lift our levels from last weekend when we were forced to grind it out against Worcester. They came to Kingston Park with a very specific game plan to kill our ball – I know that because they left their match notes in the changing room after the game – and we know Brive will be another big test in the forwards.”
Asked what he expects from a Brive side which lost 25-19 at Kingston Park back in the autumn, Fletcher said: “They are a team that plays off momentum. When you are in France and the brass band starts playing, the crowd get their danders up and the noise level increases, that sort of atmosphere inspires these guys and fires them up massively. That asks certain questions of our players, but then that's what sport is all about and I expect us to be able to respond to the challenge.”
Newcastle Falcons team to face Brive:
- 15 Tom May
- 14 Tim Visser
- 13 Mathew Tait
- 12 Toby Flood
- 11 John Rudd
- 10 Jonny Wilkinson
- 9 James Grindal
- 1 Joe McDonnell
- 2 Andy Long
- 3 Carl Hayman
- 4 Andy Perry
- 5 Mark Sorenson
- 6 Brent Wilson
- 7 Ben Woods
- 8 Russell Winter (captain)
Replacements:
- 16 Matt Thompson
- 17 Jon Golding
- 18 Geoff Parling
- 19 Phil Dowson
- 20 Lee Dickson
- 21 Alex Tait
- 22 Ollie Phillips
Not considered due to injury: Matthew Burke (knee), Ross Beattie (shoulder), James Hoyle (hip), Andy Buist (shoulder), David Wilson (back).
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