Falcons prepared for an early Bath
DEAN Richards hopes his Newcastle Falcons side will reap the rewards of their first uninterrupted training schedule since Christmas when they host Bath today (12.30pm).
The Falcons are looking to do the double over today’s visitors and would move into the top half of the Gallagher Premiership – at least temporarily – with a victory.
Currently sitting in seventh, Newcastle’s return to the Premiership has been a rollercoaster ride at times, particularly in recent months.
Covid outbreaks and extreme weather have hit the Falcons’ plans ahead of a number of games in 2021.
Newcastle director of rugby Richards welcomed the extra preparation time ahead of today’s game.
He said: “It’s probably the first game we’ve been able to prepare properly for since Christmas, what with the snow and all the Covid cancellations, and we’re really looking forward to it.
“Last week at Sale was a bit of a non-event, if we’re honest.
“We were fresh going into the Harlequins game and managed to win even though we didn’t play with the structure we wanted – mainly because we hadn’t been able to train for the two weeks leading into it.
“We had just one proper training day going into the Sale game and even then with 10 minutes to go we were only eight points behind at one of the best teams in the division.
“We feel like we’re in a much better position – we’ve trained really well and we’re optimistic about what level of performance we will be able to deliver.”
Newcastle’s 19-12 win at The Recreation Ground in November was considered a huge upset given they had just returned to the top flight after eight months without a game.
That result was the sixth time in a row the Falcons had beaten Bath – but Richards expects a fierce test today, adding: “We surprised a lot of people that day – including Bath.
“There’ll be no surprises this weekend because everybody now knows what we’re about, they’ll know what to expect from us and Bath are a good team.”
He added: “One of the most annoying things is we haven’t managed a four-try bonus point yet despite coming close on a number of occasions and that really irks us.
“We’ll get there in the end and when we finally let rip I believe we’ll score a lot of points.”
Michael Young and Joel Hodgson start in the half-backs, Alex Tait replacing wing Ben Stevenson. George Wacokecoke starts instead of groin injury vicitim Matias Orlando.
Mark Tampin makes his first Premiership start, while Darren Barry replaces Marco Fuser.
Gary Graham returns following his Six Nations exploits with Scotland, with Philip van der Walt also slotting back in after missing the loss at Sale.