Newcastle Falcons name team to face Emirates Lions

Nathan Greenwood makes his European debut for Newcastle Falcons on Saturday in Johannesburg when they take on Emirates Lions in the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The 20-year-old Tynesider scored a try away to Wasps in his only other appearance for the Falcons, with the Team GB 7s international starting on the right wing as Newcastle play their first competitive game in South Africa.

Josh Bainbridge captains the team from open-side flanker, with Newcastle having arrived on the Highveld on Tuesday morning.

Cameron Hutchison returns from concussion to start at inside centre where he forms a midfield partnership with Ben Stevenson – the Falcons looking for their first win of the pool phase after taking a bonus point from last weekend’s opener against Montpellier.

Charlie Maddison packs down at hooker in the stadium which hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, with South African Philip van der Walt starting in his homeland.

Replacement hooker Michael van Vuuren is the other native in the Falcons’ touring party, and having played for the Lions last season will be up against some familiar faces.

Lock Adam Scott is poised to make his first-team debut having been named on the bench, with fit-again George Wacokecoke also waiting in the wings for a game which is being shown live in the UK on Viaplay.

Falcons coach Mark Laycock said: “We’re here to do a job, which is to win the game, and we’ve been really clear with the players about our goals.

“It’s a very important game for us and we’ve worked hard in terms of how we gel as a group and how we want to play.

“We’re very aware of the threat the Lions pose, and we want to impose our own style onto them.

“They’re a team who finish games strongly, they have a big scrum and they’re very physical, but if the boys stick to the game plan for the full 80 minutes then I’m confident this is a team which can get the job done.”

Embracing the experience of visiting the southern hemisphere and refusing to allow for any excuses, Laycock said: “It is great bringing the boys over to South Africa and having what for most of us is a new experience.

“We’ve had to mitigate factors like travel time, the heat and the altitude, but the boys have prepared well and the staff have done a great job in making sure everything runs smoothly. We’ve been made to feel really welcome by our hosts here and we’ve had a few good days training at St Stithian’s College, so we’re very grateful for all the support and assistance we’ve received.

“For us coming from the Newcastle winter into the Johannesburg summer has basically been a case of taking our thermal socks out of our kit bag and replacing them with suncream, but all joking aside, our strength and conditioning team have done a great job around preparing boys for sessions and game day.

“It’s a little bit different from what we’re used to but it’s nothing which we’ll allow to affect our performance, and the squad are well prepared.”

Newcastle Falcons v Emirates Lions (Saturday, 3.15pm UK time, Emirates Airline Park, live on Viaplay)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Nathan Greenwood, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Louis Brown, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Josh Barton; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Charlie Maddison, 3 Mark Tampin, 4 Tim Cardall, 5 Kiran McDonald, 6 Philip van der Walt, 7 Josh Bainbridge (captain), 8 John Kelly.

Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Adam Scott, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Ben Douglas, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 George Wacokecoke.