Tomes, tomahawks and galacticos - the Falcons are
coming...
The 1,000-mile return trip required for Jersey's National One
matches against Tynedale and Blaydon last season was described as
the longest journey on the English rugby calendar. Certainly it's a
mighty long way - the sort of journey the Proclaimers wrote a song
about, and the approximate equivalent of 17 laps around Jason
Leonard.
When Jersey made the trip to Newcastle in October 2011, for the
game with Blaydon, the chances of a match-up in 2012/13 with the
Newcastle Falcons, the region's top-ranked side, looked remote. The
Islanders had lost three of their opening nine games in National
One, as well as being deducted five points for exceeding the quota
of foreign players that is one of the regulations for the club (if
not international) game. The game at Crow Trees was a scrappy
affair, but the visitors from the deep south edged it 12-6.
Two rungs up the ladder, former Premiership champions Newcastle
were having a tough start to their campaign, but it was early days,
and there were plenty of other candidates for the 12th spot in the
table which could (subject to a fairly large asterisk) lead to
relegation.
Fast forward to the end of March, and Jersey's next visit to the
Toon for their game against Tynedale. This was arguably the most
dominant victory of the entire campaign, a 64-0 thumping that left
the National One title Jersey's for the taking. Newcastle's league
position was unchanged, although they still had hope thanks to a
gritty 22-19 win over Sale, watched by the Jersey squad on the eve
of their game at Corbridge.
The final pieces in the jigsaw were in place when Jersey won their
final three league games, while Newcastle failed heroically to
overhaul Wasps and get off the trapdoor. The Falcons' only hope was
the 'asterisk' clause - that the Championship winners would be
denied promotion due to the Premiership's Minimum Standards
Criteria. However play-off wins for London Welsh over Bedford and
the Pirates, followed by further success in the courtroom, meant
Newcastle's fate was confirmed at the end of June, and to the
club's credit they opted against further legal wrangling that might
have extended the close-season towards Hallowe'en. Instead Dean
Richards fronted up at the official Championship launch at 'HQ'
where Jersey's Ben Harvey was also a guest (below - who do you
think would have won possession if it had been a genuine
maul?!)).
Five months on and first meeting between the sides is now upon
us, with Jersey looking for the kind of inspired performance that
could down a giant, in this case an unbeaten side with nine
straight league wins. Jersey managed two wins in succession before
their most recent outing, a defeat at Bristol, and are 10 places
behind the leaders, but nevertheless know that there could just be
a sniff of a famous upset.
News from the Jersey camp
After 11 straight weekends of competitive action, the Jersey squad
had a well-earned weekend off ahead of the Falcons' clash, with the
exception of skipper Nathan Hannay who represented the Championship
against the Maori All Blacks on Saturday, alongside Newcastle's
Oliver 'Tomahawk' Tomaszczyk.
In theory the break should ensure a chance for players to ease
some recent bumps and bruises and give Ben Harvey the chance to
pick from a mostly-fit squad, although in practice there are still
some significant absentees, with DoR Ben Harvey keeping one eye on
the crucial encounter with Doncaster next Friday.
One player certain to be absent is centre Ashley Maggs, whose
return to his native Bristol was marred by a red card for a
dangerous tackle. This earned him a two-week ban from a RFU
disciplinary panel this week, ruling him out of action until
December 5th. Although an appeal has been considered it is believed
the verdict has now been accepted and no appeal will be lodged.
Team News: Injuries to Mike Le Bourgeois and
Ross Broadfoot mean that former Ospreys full-back Barry Davies
makes his first appearance at fly-half for the Islanders. Davies is
partnered at half-back by Dave McCormack, who also leads the side
as regular skipper Nathan Hannay recovers from a physical encounter
between the RFU Championship XV and the Maori All Blacks last
Saturday.
Ed Tellwright joins the back-line in place of the suspended
Ashley Maggs, with James Copsey moving to centre. The pack features
four Jersey Academy graduates, with tight-head prop Jon Brennan
gaining his first start since returning from a long-term injury.
Rob Anderson and Dave Markham will play in tandem having previously
rotated as Hannay's second-row partner, while Irish flanker Eoghan
Nihill returns to the fray and teams up with 18-year-old James Voss
and Nick Trower in the back row.
Jersey's bench includes three players looking to return to
action following injuries - scrum-half Nicky Griffiths, centre Dai
Bishop and back-row man Fred Silcock.
Jersey squad, sponsored by Locate Jersey and
jersey.com
1 Richard Barrington
2 Dave Felton
3 Jon Brennan
4 Rob Anderson
5 Dave Markham
6 James Voss
7 Eoghan Nihill
8 Nick Trower
9 Dave McCormack (capt)
10 Barry Davies
11 Ed Dawson
12 Donovan Sanders
13 James Copsey
14 Ed Tellwright
15 Glenn Bryce
Replacements
16 Sean McCarthy
17 James Gethings
18 Paul Rodgers
19 Fred Silcock
20 Nicky Griffiths
21 Chris Levesley
22 Dai Bishop
Newcastle Falcons in 2012/13
The Falcons spent almost half their close season not knowing
which league they would be in, but the club's deeds matched the
words spoken about how seriously they would be taking the 2012/13,
regardless of whether they were going to be playing Tigers or
Titans.
An early statement of intent came with the news in March that Dean
Richards would become Director of Rugby in August once his
three-year ban for the infamous 'Bloodgate' incident was served.
Richards' appointment was not conditional on league status, and
attracting a man of his calibre was a significant factor in keeping
many core players from the Falcons' Premiership squad
together.
Another key man was fly-half Jimmy Gopperth, who remained on board
for what is his fourth season at Kingston Park. This helped attract
a decent calibre of recruit to the club, such as 30-times capped
Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson from Gloucester. Further
Premiership and/ or international experience came in the form of
Alex Crockett and Oliver Tomaszczyk (Worcester) Andrew Higgins
(Sale) and Chris York (Harlequins), as well as Fijian fly-half (16
caps) Waisea Luveniyali, Junior All Black Tane Tu'ipulotu
(returning after a stint in Japan) and Scotland lock (23 caps)
Scott Macleod.
The new recruits joined a squad bristling with talent - forwards
such as the England squad prop Jonny Golding, 54-times capped
Italian lock Carlo del Fava and Scotland flanker Ally Hogg (54
caps), and in the three-quarters, the likes of Luke Fielden and
Alex Tait. Tait, 24, is the younger brother of England's Mathew and
is set to play his 100th game for the Falcons against Jersey.
Gopperth (above) is the lynchpin of the side in many respects -
the orchestrator of the back-line, the kicker of goals (he's scored
around 1,000 points for the Falcons in 90-something competitive
appearances) and because he's something of an iron-man, missing
just one league game since joining in summer 2009 (he'd previously
played Super rugby for both Wellington and Auckland in his native
NZ). The 29-year-old has played every minute of every league game
this season, and did the same (if Statbunker is to be believed) in
his 22 Premiership outings last season, with the exception of 10
minutes in the sin-bin against Bath.
The Falcons began the season with an impressive 37-20 win at
Bristol, the team who'd been tipped for promotion last season. The
margin was the same the following week although London Scottish did
claim a bonus point while going down 32-49, the only point taken
off the Falcons all season. Richards' men have failed to get the
full-house five only twice, firstly in a 25-3 win at the Mennaye, a
game sandwiched by comfortable home wins over Doncaster and
Leeds.
The season-high 53 points against Leeds was matched in early
October at Moseley in another easy win, and there was no let-up in
the British & Irish Cup as Cross Keys (finalists last season)
and Connacht 'A' were put to the sword. On resuming league action,
Rotherham were defeated 33-0 at Kingston Park, but then a noble
effort saw Bedford come closest so far, denying the Falcons a bonus
point and almost seizing one of their own until a late Gopperth
drop-goal made it 29-20 to his side.
Two weeks ago the Falcons hosted second-placed Nottingham, who
trailed just 7-6 at half-time but were eventually beaten 29-9.
Team News: Newcastle have made five changes to
the side that defeated Nottingham 29-9 a fortnight ago for this
Saturday's trip to Jersey.
Alex Crockett comes in for the rested Tane Tu'ipulotu at outside
centre, while Warren Fury replaces Rory Lawson at scrum-half after
the latter was named on the bench for Scotland to face Tonga this
weekend.
Tongan centre Suka Hufanga is also on international duty this
weekend, while Taiasina Tu'ifua will be in the Samoan XV taking on
France in Paris.
Grant Shiells and Matt Thompson start in the front-row alongside
Oliver Tomaszczyk, with Chris York getting the nod in the
back-row.
Victory over the Channel Islanders will make it ten league wins out
of ten this campaign, and comes hot on the heels of last week's
impressive triumph over Tonga at Kingston Park.
Falcons boss Dean Richards is pleased with his side's recent
form, which has seen back-to-back wins against title challengers
Nottingham and Tonga who are ranked twelfth in the world.
"I'm pleased with both of those performances, particularly the
Tonga match which was a complete performance by us," said
Richards.
He added: "The game against Tonga opened up a little bit quicker
than what we thought, and we took our chances.
"They scored a couple of really nice tries, but we held them at bay
which a lot of people didn't expect us to do - we believed in
ourselves."
The squad jet out to Jersey today on a charter flight along with an
army of Falcons supporters, as the feel good factor for top-class
rugby continues to blossom in the North East.
Richards said: "It's a nice trip if you're a supporter and there
are certainly plenty of things for them to do on the Friday and
Saturday night.
"The players' focus on Friday night will be what they are going
to do on the field on Saturday afternoon.
"We will of course have a couple of beers on Saturday night
after the game, but we have a quick turnaround and we need to turn
our attentions to Plymouth on the Friday."
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Luke Fielden, 13
Alex Crockett, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Jimmy
Gopperth, 9 Warren Fury, 1 Grant Shiells, 2 Matt Thompson, 3 Oliver
Tomaszczyk, 4 Sean Tomes, 5 Scott MacLeod, 6 Chris York, 7 Mark
Wilson, 8 Ally Hogg
Replacements: 16 Mike Mayhew, 17 James Hall, 18 James
Goode, 19 Richard Mayhew, 20 Jordi Pasqualin, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22
Andy Higgins
Taking level two by storm
With 43 points out of a possible 45 this year (4.78 per match),
Newcastle will have their sights set on matching, or perhaps even
exceeding some of the best numbers racked up by the winners at this
level in recent years:
* 2003/04 - Worcester. Won 26, Lost 0. 125 league points out of
130 (4.81 per game)
* 2007/08 - Northampton. W30 L0. 143/ 150 (4.77)
* 2005/06 - Harlequins (DoR D.Richards). W25 L1. 121/130
(4.65)
* 2010/11 - Worcester. W27 L1. 129/140 (4.61)
Of course Worcester's 2010/11 record is the exception in that it
could all have counted for nothing had the Warriors failed to win
through in the play-offs; this possible - if unlikely - scenario
may occasionally feature in the more vivid nightmares of Newcastle
officials, players and supporters.
History of Newcastle Falcons
The Newcastle name is a relatively recent incarnation of a club
that was formed as Gosforth FC by a group of former Durham School
pupils.
The club's existence was a nomadic one until the middle of the
20th Century, when some committed fund-raising ensured the cash
required to purchase land at North Road in Gosforth in 1951, with
the ground first used in 1955. Renowned names from this period
included two Lions' caps - Scotland wing Arthur Smith and Irish
prop Ray McLoughlin.
In 1971/72 Gosforth was captained by future England Coach Jack
Rowell and in 1976 and 1977 there was a double centenary
celebration with back-to-back John Player Cup wins against Rosslyn
Park (23-14) and Waterloo (27-14), with a team featuring the likes
of England caps Peter Dixon and Roger Uttley and Scotland hooker
Duncan Madsen.
The league era started in 1987 and soon afterwards another
chapter of history closed with the sale of North Road for
development and the acquisition of the Kingston Park site that has
been home to this day. In 1990 the name of the club changed to
Newcastle Gosforth, but it remained largely a second-tier side (bar
a single-season incursion into Courage One in 1993/94) until the
arrival of Sir John Hall in 1995.
With the game turning professional, Sir John's vision was for a
Newcastle sporting institution including the city's famous football
club as well as rugby, basketball and ice hockey. A team of rugby
galacticos was assembled, and not just because 'galactico' sounds
particularly good in a Geordie accent. This included Rob Andrew as
Player/ Director of Rugby and other names like Dean Ryan, Steve
Bates, Garry Armstrong, Doddie Weir, Tony Underwood and Inga
Tuigamala.
Playing as Newcastle Falcons for the first time, the star line-up
achieved promotion to the Premiership in 1996/97, just a point
behind Richmond, another team surfing the professional wave (Ben
Harvey was a squad player at Richmond that season). This success
was eclipsed the following season as the Falcons won the
Premiership at the first attempt, winning 19 of their 22 games to
edge Saracens by a single league point.
In league terms this was a high point, as in the ensuing 13
seasons at the top level the Falcons managed a best position of
sixth, although there were cup successes in 2001 (Tetley's) and
2004 (Powergen). The club's playing resources during the noughties
included England's Jamie Noon, Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson, Matt
Burke and Owen Finegan (Australia) Carl Hayman (NZ), Nick
Popplewell (Ireland), Epi Taione (Tonga), Pat Lam (Samoa) and the
Scot Alan Tait who was later to be Head Coach.
Off-field financial concerns became increasingly acute towards the
end of the decade with the collapse of main sponsor Northern Rock.
In 2010 Chairman Dave Thompson, who took over from Sir John Hall in
the late 1990s, announced new investment from businessman Semore
Kurdi, and in September 2011 Kurdi raised his stake and took over
from Thompson who stepped down after 13 years.
2010/11 was a tough campaign for the Falcons and ended with an
escape from relegation on points difference ahead of Leeds
Carnegie, but the following season there was no such feat. Three
wins and a draw in seven games brought the possibility of a
final-day escape against Wasps, but north needed to beat south with
a bonus-point win, and the 14-10 success courtesy of a late try was
insufficient to avert the drop.
Toon Triv
* Alex Tait and brother Matt were educated at Barnard Castle
School in County Durham. The renowned rugby school also educated
the Underwood brothers (below, only one of whom played for
Newcastle), Rob Andrew and, more recently, Lee Dickson
* Ben Harvey played at Kingston Park during the 1997/98 season,
coming on as a replacement for Richmond in an 18-12 defeat. He also
played against Dean Richards in October 1995, when Leicester
defeated Bristol 43-6 at Welford Road
* Crowds for league games at Kingston Park this season average
3,975, the second-highest in the Championship; this compares with
an average of 5,300 for Premiership games last season
* The Falcons have scored 42 tries so far this season in league
games; Ally Hogg is top-scorer with five
* Jimmy Gopperth is top of the Championship pops this season for
kicking (135 points in the league to date) and total points (add
three tries).
Coming to St Peter
Tickets for the match are £15 for adults, £10 for Jersey members
on production of a membership card, £3 for juniors (13 to 16
inclusive) and free to those aged 12 and under. These will be on
sale at the club shop between 10am and 1pm on Friday. The £3
concession rate will also be available to any full-time student on
production of the appropriate identification.
Recent wet weather will affect normal car parking arrangements
at St Peter - those coming by car need to head for pitch 6,
accessed off Rue du Saut Falluet, which in turn is accessed off Rue
des Landes. Pitch 3 will not be in use. Please allow extra time, or
consider other means (such as bus, taxi or lift) of getting to the
ground.
Also on Friday, the Barclays Pavilion will be open from 5.30 to
7.30pm for an eve-of-match reception open to all supporters, with
the chance to have a pint, enjoy some free nibbles and pick up your
tickets. Tickets will then be on sale on the gate from 12noon on
Saturday, with the ground and facilities open from then
onwards.
Following the game
Don't forget that you can keep up-to-speed with news from Jersey v
Falcons through the following channels:
• Preview on BBC Radio Jersey from 5.30- 6pm on Friday, and live
commentary on Saturday afternoon from 2pm (available online and on
your transistor-wireless device)
• Preview in Friday's JEP, more rugby in Saturday's
Inside Centre pull-out, and full match coverage on
Monday
• Scoreflashes on @jerseyrfc Twitter and the 'Rolling Maul' rugby
forum
• Match report on Channel 103 soon after the final whistle on
Saturday, plus updates during the match
• Reports and match action on Channel TV online and on Monday
evening at 6.15pm; and on BBC Channel Islands on Monday evening at
6.30pm
The Championship this weekend
Friday: Bedford v Pirates
Saturday: London Scottish v Moseley (12.15 matinee so the
Scots can head to Twickenham to cheer on South Africa), Rotherham v
Leeds, Plymouth v Bristol
Sunday: Nottingham v Doncaster
And finally
Reference has been made already to famous brothers wearing
Newcastle colours, and that's without Jonny Wilkinson's brother
Mark getting a mention. But for family likeness, check out the
resemblance below between Falcons' lock Sean Tomes and his old man
Alan, who won 48 caps for Scotland - also in the engine room -
between 1976 and 1987 as well as touring with the Lions.
,
Turning attention to other rugby in Jersey this weekend, Banks
Vets host HMP at Grainville on Saturday at 11.30am, but the LQ v
Guernsey 2nds game is off. On Sunday let's hope Banks Ladies get
their first league win at home to Tonbridge at Grainville at 1pm.
Also on Sunday Jersey Athletic play the Wanderers (SP, 2pm) and
Jersey's Youth Team are away against Petersfield.
And there's the penultimate round of Autumn international
matches: Ireland v Argentina looks tasty, while England and Wales
will be hoping things can't get any worse.
Enjoy your weekend's rugby (and another look below at Sue T's
splendid sunset shot from our last home match)
Tom Innes
