Robinson raring to go as Falcons prepare for opening fixture

SEAN Robinson and his Newcastle Falcons team-mates will finally end their 126-day wait for a game when they open the 2019-20 season at Jersey Reds tomorrow, with the lock determined to hit the ground running.

A recurring arm break severely restricted Robinson’s game time last season, the 28-year-old returning for the last two matches after spending most of the campaign on the sidelines.

Set to play a more central role in their promotion push and fresh from signing a four-year contract extension, Robinson said: “The Rugby World Cup has extended our pre-season a bit which I’m sure no club player is happy about, because you just want to be out there playing.

“That said, I feel like we’re in a great place as a group and the boys are all tremendously excited about starting the season. We’ve worked hard, we’ve put in place a game plan and it’s just a case of getting out there and performing.”

Going into the Championship Cup clash without any competitive rugby under their belts, the Durham University graduate explained: “It’s different going into a fixture without having played any pre-season games, although to cater for that we’ve done quite a bit more full-on work in training than we would normally do during the season.

“We’ve had a few full-contact hit-outs against each other, which I realise is different from a full game, but we feel like we’re ready for the tests that await us. It’ll be good for the group to test out the things we’ve been working on across the whole summer.”