Owen hopes to build on debut
FRESH from his debut try against Coventry, centre Gareth Owen is glad to be fit and firing for Newcastle Falcons ahead of Friday night’s Championship Cup visit of Hartpury.
The summer signing from Leicester Tigers missed the first eight games of the season after undergoing knee surgery, but after scoring the final try in their 46-7 demolition of Coventry Owen is now keen to maintain his upward trajectory.
“It was great just to finally get out onto the pitch after a bit of a troubled pre-season,” said the 31-yearold, who collected a scoring pass from Darren Barry to score between the posts.
“I had a little bit of knee surgery over the summer which kind of dragged on for a little bit longer than we’d expected, we erred on the side of caution and I just had to take my medicine in terms of sitting out most of the first block of games to get it totally right.
“You’ve just got to get on with it in that situation, it’s obviously not ideal but it probably made it all the more special to finally get out there against Coventry and to mark my debut with a try.”
The former Ospreys, Scarlets and Leicester midfield man joked: “I’m probably not renowned for my try-scoring record so it was special to get one on my debut, mainly because my debuts are normally known for me getting sinbinned!
“It was just great to be out there though, first and foremost. When you join a new club you want to be straight into the pot being considered for selection, and it’s harder to integrate with the lads when you’re stuck in the gym or doing your rehab.
“That side of it was tough but the boys have been great with me, and it’s nice to be in amongst it now.
“I’ve been watching all the games during my time out, and the results speak for themselves with nine wins from nine. In our home games especially we’ve really put a few points on teams, it’s a tough place to come to and we’ll obviously be looking for that trend to continue throughout the whole season.”
Six points clear at the top of the Greene King IPA Championship after six rounds and four points clear at the top of their Championship Cup group after three games, Newcastle will be facing familiar opposition on Friday having already met Hartpury on two occasions.
The Falcons were 52-14 winners in rural Gloucestershire on October 5 and then 45-7 winners on Tyneside a fortnight later. Tickets for Friday’s game are available by calling 0871 226 6060.
If we get our game right then we’re not too worried what the other teams are going to do
Gareth Owen