Newcastle Falcons name team to face Exeter

Newcastle Falcons name team to face Exeter

Sammy Arnold is among the players returning for Newcastle Falcons on Friday night as they host Exeter Chiefs in Gallagher Premiership action.

 

The summer signing slots back into the side for the 7.45pm Kingston Park kick-off after missing last weekend’s trip to Sale Sharks, with midfield partner Connor Doherty also returning to the line-up.

 

Ben Redshaw starts at full-back following the knee injury picked up by Elliott Obatoyinbo during the Derby Weekend clash, while there could be a debut for Alex Hearle as the former Gloucester man takes up a place on the bench after recovering from a torn pectoral.


 

Keen to record their first points of the season against an Exeter side who are also win-less so far in the competition, director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “We’ve got to stay in touch with the teams around the bottom, and in the next two weeks we play the two sides who are immediately above us in Exeter and Gloucester. We’ve got to stay in an arm wrestle with somebody, and at the minute it’s looking like those are two most likely candidates.


 

“I think there’s more pressure on Exeter going into this game than there is on us. It’s an unusual position for them to be down there in the doldrums with no wins from four, even though a couple of them have been close-run affairs. Less than four years ago they were winning European and Premiership finals but now they’re down there in the dogfight, and it’s not a position they’ll be accustomed to.

 

“They keep the ball on the field, they’ve reverted to type a little bit and their forward pack carries the ball through the front door a lot of the time. They look to break down defences with some of their wonderful back-line players, so we’ve just got to match them physically and restrict their opportunities better than we did last week at Sale.

 

“We couldn’t get ourselves in a territorial position to apply attacking pressure last Friday, and that’s what we’ve been working on this week. We were comprehensively outgunned by a class team who played well on the night, but we’ve got to dust ourselves down and move on to the next game. If we can get our own game right then we can challenge teams, and Exeter at home is a great chance for us.”

 

Determined to generate greater belief among his squad, the Falcons boss said: “From the outside looking in there’s very little positivity surrounding us at the moment, so we’ve got to build it from within.

 

“The media are already starting to ask what’s the point in us being in the league, which is understandable when all they’re looking at is the results. Well, we’ve been a Premiership club for almost 30 years, barring two times when we dropped down to the next division and came back up at the first attempt. We’ve won the comp before, we’ve won the national cup before and we’ve supplied numerous players to the national team.

 

“So there is a point why we’re in the league, but on the same token we’ve not won a game in the comp for a while and I do understand why the media are saying these things. The only people who can change the narrative are those within this building, and I’ve been really impressed by their professionalism and commitment.

 

“Normally in these situations you’d expect there to be bitching and moaning around the place, but everyone’s united here. The lads work hard in training, they do their extras and analysis, they keep the gym and the dining rooms clean and I had a message from a sponsor on Monday saying five of our lads were outstanding ambassadors doing a commercial appearance on their day off after we’d had a disappointing defeat at Sale the night before.

 

“The way they conduct themselves is absolutely first class, and we’re working hard to raise their belief as well as their skill and knowledge base. We’ve got a great owner in Semore Kurdi and the infrastructure here is good, so it’s all set for us to push on. Friday is a massive opportunity, and despite all the doom and gloom from outside I’m actually pretty upbeat about our prospects.”

 

Asked how he himself copes with the pressure, Diamond said: “This is a way of life for me, and I get my enthusiasm by coming in every day and trying to help people to get better. It’s a challenge, and there aren’t many of these jobs around. We’re so lucky to do this when you consider there are people living in war zones or facing all manner of serious adversity in their lives. OK, we’ve lost some rugby matches, but you’ve got to put it into some sort of context. We’re trying to get this business running at break-even or near enough, which would be a win in itself, and although we’re not there yet we’re not going to be losing many millions.

 

“It’ll take two or three seasons, but behind the scenes here we’re very well run. It’s a lean operation, and with a couple more ticks in the box this will be a fully functioning club where a competitive squad is assembled within the right budget. There’s a bit of pain at the moment which nobody is shying away from, but in the longer term it’s the right path for us to take and we’ve got a fabulous owner in Semore Kurdi who has backed this club for many years.

 

“Obviously we’re not where we wanted to be so far this season, and I’ve sat down with the senior players. Our scrum and line-out is competitive, we’re not giving away many penalties and our breakdown is good. We’ve simplified things in attack because what we’re not doing is scoring enough points, but having both your senior fly-halves out injured doesn’t help. They’ll be back in a couple of weeks and Ethan Grayson has put his body on the line every time he’s played, but you need your nines and tens to get you around the field. It’s made it hard for us to get out of that middle third, but we’re starting to get guys back and I believe it’s not far off.”

 

Determined to reap much more benefit from his dangerous attacking runners, he added: “We’ve sat down with our back-three guys and shown them clips of players like Chris Ashton, Jason Robinson and those sorts of guys coming infield and looking for work. I don’t think that’s been in the ethos here for quite some years, but we’ve got to find a way to get someone like Adam Radwan into the game more.

 

“It’s designing plays or getting him to see opportunities where he can isolate defenders and get one-on-ones, but our attack has been too sideways and predictable. The wingers have been glued to their touchlines, but we need to mix it up more. The coaches and players are on with that job, but we need to be more ruthless with it. Guys like Radders should be getting more touches than they are, and it’s definitely something we’re working on.”

 

Newcastle Falcons team v Exeter Chiefs (Friday, 7.45pm, Kingston Park, live on TNT Sports red button and Discovery+)

 

15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 5 John Hawkins, 6 Philip van der Walt, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

 

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Adam Scott, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Alex Hearle, 23 Cameron Hutchison.

 

Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Tim Cardall, Brett Connon, Sebastian de Chaves, Cameron Neild, Elliott Obatoyinbo, Kieran Wilkinson.

 




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