Latest Team News ahead of Newcastle Falcons v Leeds Tykes
14 Nov at Kingston Park KO 14:30
Newcastle Falcons Team News
Newcastle Falcons have named their team for Sunday’s Zurich Premiership game against Leeds Tykes at Kingston Park (kick-off 2.30pm).
Director of rugby, Rob Andrew, has made four changes to his starting XV from the one which was defeated 39-25 at Sale Sharks last Friday.
Andy Buist makes his first start of the season as he comes in at lock for Stuart Grimes, who is away with the Scotland squad.
In the back row, Samoa captain Semo Sititi starts at blindside flanker for Mike McCarthy, who has started all ten games so far this season.
At tight head prop Marius Hurter takes the place of Micky Ward, while Jamie Noon comes into the side at outside centre in place of Mathew Tait.
Development team scrum half Lee Dickson could be in line for a first team debut after impressing in the Zurich A League this season, as he sits on the bench following Hall Charlton’s England call-up.
Joe Shaw returns to the bench after recovering from ankle ligament damage, which he sustained at Gloucester back in late September.
The Falcons are again without Wales flanker Colin Charvis who is on Test duty against Romania, meaning that Cory Harris gets a second start at openside flanker after making his debut last weekend.
Speaking on the decision to start with Buist at second row, Andrew stated that he had full confidence in the 20-year-old, saying: “Andy has done very well this year, and he’s been one of the stars for the development team, which is in the middle of a great unbeaten run in the Zurich A League at the moment.
“He played against Leeds down at Headingley last year, has an excellent chance of playing for the England Under-21 side this season, and is doing extremely well. We’re very pleased with him, and I think it’s right that he comes into the second row, so I had no hesitation whatsoever in picking him there.
“Mike McCarthy has played very well, and played second row against Leicester, but he’s started all ten games for us this season and we just feel the time is right to give him a bit of a rest, although we still have him as an option from the bench.
“He wants to be considered as a No.6, and that’s his best position, although we know he can cover at lock should he be needed. Semo Sititi comes in at six for this game, but as I said Mike can now have an impact from the bench.”
Andrew insisted that he had no second thoughts in including Dickson on the bench while Charlton is away with England, saying of the 19-year-old: “Dicko will have no problems at all if he gets on to the field.
“He’s a very confident player, and he’s been a massive influence on the development team, which after two heavy defeats at the start of their league season has now won every single game since. He’s a really tough kid, and has impressed me a lot. He knows there are areas he needs to work on, but he’s doing that and he’s very sharp.
“He has trained with the first team all season, as has Andy Buist, and that’s one of the benefits we’re now seeing with having the senior academy squad attached to the first team more. They know everything that’s going on with the first team, the patterns and the calls. We have a good crop of players who are pushing hard from the academy, which is fantastic for us.”
The Falcons go into the game on the back of a loss at Sale Sharks, with Andrew saying of a frustrating evening at Edgeley Park: “You have to be analytical and move on.
“We’ve had a mixed week because in some parts we’ve done some good work, like the first half hour at Sale, which was the best rugby we’ve played all season, and then we had the disappointment of not only losing the game, but of not even getting a bonus point out of it.
“That was the hardest thing, because we were an arm stretch away from the try which would have tied the game if the conversion had gone over, and that would have meant two points for the draw and a four-try bonus point, which having watched the game on tape a few times, was about the right result all round.
“But you’re dealing with such a high level of intensity every week these days with the Premiership and the Heineken Cup that you can’t dwell on things. You just have to work on the areas you feel you have to improve on and get ready to bounce back for the next game.”
Andrew’s men find themselves up against a Tykes team in the middle of a form run in the Zurich Premiership, and he said ahead of the match: “It will be a very good contest, I’m sure of that.
“Leeds played pretty well in the last couple of league matches, and they’ve started to expand their game a little bit by bringing in the likes of Iain Balshaw and Tim Stimpson. Andre Snyman and Chris Bell are playing very well in the centres, and they’ve added a little bit of width from previous seasons.
“They’ve got a very big pack, but they’ll miss Gordon Ross at fly half while he’s with the Scotland squad because he’s been doing really well for them. They’ve also lost their prop Gavin Kerr to Scotland, but after a slow start to the season they’ve really picked up.
“We know they’ll be tough, but we’re confident that we can get a result.”
Tickets are still available for Sunday’s game by calling 0871 226 60 60, or by coming to the Kingston Park ticket office in person.
Newcastle Falcons team to face Leeds Tykes:
15 Matthew Burke
14 Tom May
13 Jamie Noon
12 Epi Taione
11 Michael Stephenson
10 Dave Walder
9 James Grindal
1 Ian Peel (captain)
2 Andy Long
3 Marius Hurter
4 Craig Hamilton
5 Andy Buist
6 Semo Sititi
7 Cory Harris
8 Phil Dowson
Replacements:
Micky Ward
James Isaacson
Mike McCarthy
Geoff Parling
Lee Dickson
Joe Shaw
Mathew Tait
Leeds Tykes Team News
GARETH LOOKING TO BE TYKES MR WRIGHT
South African fly half Gareth Wright, 25, will make his debut for Leeds Tykes this Sunday after only arriving in the country last weekend. Wright, who nearly joined Leicester two seasons ago, played with Western Province in the Currie Cup this season and comes in for Gordon Ross who is away on international duty with Scotland. Wright commented, “I am looking to make the most of the opportunity with Leeds. I felt I have gone as far as I can go in South Africa and the Zurich Premiership is a fresh challenge for me. With Gordon being away with Scotland, I have got my opportunity perhaps earlier than I expected but it is one I am looking forward to. Gordon was excellent last week against Northampton but I will be trying to show what I can do and prove my worth to the club on Sunday.”
Phil Davies has made two further changes to the starting line up. Tom Biggs suffered an ankle injury in last weeks win over Northampton but could be amongst the replacements if Gordon Ross is unable to play after Scotland’s game on Saturday. David Rees will start on the wing. Dan Hyde is injured so Alix Popham returns to the back row with Colm Rigney reverting to open side flanker to accommodate Popham at number eight.
On the bench there are returns from injury for Diego Albanese, Matt Holt and Pierre Uys.
15. Tim Stimpson
14. Iain Balshaw
13. Chris Bell
12. Andre Snyman
11. David Rees
10. Gareth Wright
09. Alan Dickens
01. Mike Shelley
02. Mark Regan
03. Rayno Gerber
04. Scott Morgan
05. Tom Palmer (c)
06. Jon Dunbar
07. Colm Rigney
08. Alix Popham
16. Matt Holt
17. Rob Rawlinson
18. Chris Murphy
19. Pierre Uys
20. Mark McMillan
21. Gordon Ross/Tom Biggs
22. Diego Albanese
Summary of meetings between the teams in the Premiership
Played 6
Newcastle Falcons Won 4 66.7%
Leeds Tykes Won 1 16.7%
Drawn 1 16.7%
Biggest Win for Newcastle Falcons 19 - 8 21 Oct 2001
Biggest Win for Leeds Tykes 28 - 25 15 Feb 2004
Newcastle Falcons top try scorer vs Leeds Tykes Stuart Grimes 3 tries
Newcastle Falcons top points scorer vs Leeds Tykes Jonny Wilkinson 38 points
Leeds Tykes top try scorer vs Newcastle Falcons Dan Scarbrough 2 tries
Leeds Tykes top points scorer vs Newcastle Falcons Braam Van Straaten 31 points
Previous Premiership Meetings
Date Type Teams Result Venue
28 Mar 2004 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 30 - 30 Headingley 15 Feb 2004 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 25 - 28 Kingston Park 07 Feb 2003 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 17 - 12 Headingley 29 Sep 2002 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 27 - 20 Kingston Park 10 Feb 2002 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 19 - 9 Headingley 21 Oct 2001 ZP Newcastle Falcons vs Leeds Tykes 19 - 8 Kingston Park
The Falcons were top of the table with 13 league points after three rounds but are winless since adding just three more league points from five matches in the process.
The Tykes have rattled off three successive wins in the Zurich Premiership and another would represent their best run since they joined the top-flight for the first time in 2001-02.
Newcastle won the first four Premiership matches between the two but last season Leeds won 28-25 at Kingston Park in February and drew 30-all at Headingley in March.
Andy Long has played in 99 matches in the Premiership – 81 for Bath, 10 for Rotherham and 8 for Newcastle.
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