Fit-again Flood’s looking forward to his Bath time
TOBY Flood returns for Newcastle Falcons in one of six changes as they prepare for tonight’s Aviva Premiership visit of Bath to Kingston Park.
The fly-half missed last week’s game at Saracens with a head knock but is fit to resume his place in the side as Dean Richards’ men go for a sixth successive home victory in all competitions.
Aiming to do a league double over Bath following the 33-32 victory they enjoyed at the Rec in September, Newcastle welcome back the Scotland pair of Chris Harris and Jon Welsh to their starting XV following a fortnight on Six Nations duty.
Canadian international Evan Olmstead assumes a place on the blind-side flank in the only other change to the pack, fit-again centre Josh Matavesi and full-back Alex Tait the other two additions to the lineup as the Falcons aim to bounce back from their first league defeat in five games.
Director of rugby Richards said: “When you look at Bath’s side on paper they have a fantastic bunch of players - even with guys away on Six Nations duty.
“They are a star-studded outfit, it will be a hard game but it holds no fear for us.
“We have shown we can beat them this season, we understand what is needed and we just need to execute it to the nth degree.
“If Bath turn up they are a very difficult side to beat, but so are we.
“We played them a few weeks ago in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and in the first half had opportunity after opportunity, but we just did not put them away.
“Had we done so it would have been a different outcome and they will be worried by the amount of chances we created.
“Should we start converting those into points it will be a very hard game for them - but they are a good side and they will have done their homework on us.”
He added: “Overall we are starting to deliver what we set out to do, we are becoming more consistent but it has taken a bit of time.
“The game has evolved since we came back up, there has been big spending going on around the league and in that respect we have been chasing our tails a little.
“We are getting there, we have a stability and quality in the side and a growing maturity in the group.
“Guys who were 21 during our Championship season are now in their prime with a bank of experience behind them and we are getting the rewards from that.”
The Falcons’ run of four successive league victories was ended last weekend with a 25-3 loss at European champions Saracens, Richards saying: “We are at a stage now where we are being ultra-critical of ourselves and we feel we did not turn up on the day as well as we could have done.
“If you compare it with previous seasons we probably did better at Saracens than we have done in recent years - but the beauty now is guys are setting higher standards and are looking at every detail in terms of how we look to improve.
“We are gradually getting there and we have won nine of our last 11 games. That is not a bad record but it is understanding how to win the big games which count and being competitive every time.
“We have shown we can beat most sides on our day by defeating Exeter, Northampton, Bath or whoever, but ultimately we need to be doing that against the Wasps and Saracens of this world.
“That is where we want to be and we are gradually getting there in terms of having the consistency of performance we need.
“Even after the disappointment of losing at Saracens what has been very pleasing has been the mind-set in terms of how the players are analysing their own performance and looking to make the changes we need to take the next step.”
With crowds on the rise again this season and seats in short supply tonight, Richards said: “Our home support has been fantastic this year, and I must thank the local population for getting behind us in everincreasing numbers.
“Friday will be a great atmosphere and then we have The Big One at St James’ Park on March 24, which will both be fantastic occasions, and one of the things the players keep saying is they want to reward our supporters.
“I am not too bothered about the weather because we have a game for bad conditions and a game for good conditions.
“We will adapt accordingly depending on how things are on the night - but the big thing for me is the atmosphere.
“Our crowd really get into these Friday night games, the noise is tremendous and if the players can feed off that then we are in good shape.”
Tickets for tonight’s game are available by calling 0871 226 6060.