Gary Gold has made one change for Saturday’s Aviva Premiership clash with London Irish at Kingston Park as the Newcastle Falcons go for back-to-back home victories (kick-off 3pm).
Tom Bedford starts for the first time since his move from Bedford Blues and replaces Suka Hufanga who has been rocked by the news that he will be out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury.
“We need to use this fantastic Kingston Park crowd to our advantage and we need to learn from the errors that we made last week,” said Gold who saw his side succumb to a narrow 30-24 defeat at Bath last week.
He added: “I do not think there is a crowd better known for their passionate support than the Newcastle faithful – it really makes a difference.
“We need to play rugby in the right areas of the field and it is potentially going to rain this weekend so again we need to be clever and we need to be smart.
“When we get the opportunities to score we need to be bold enough to execute our chances. The position that we are in at the moment is a reality but I do not think it should weigh us down – we should express ourselves and play.”
Fresh from signing a new three year deal with the North East outfit, Gopperth admits he has been impressed with the new coaching set-up at Kingston Park.
Gopperth said: “I have seen a change in attitude since they joined the club and I think it is important that the boys continue to work hard with Gary leading from the front.
“Gary has already made it clear that it is unacceptable to go through the motions and the training sessions are intense which is how they should be.
“If you train hard, you will play hard. There are no cutting corners and the key is that everyone is buying into their philosophy at the moment.
“We have a simple game-plan and it is crucial that every single player on the field as well as the replacements and even the guys that do not get selected for games are on the same page.”
Tickets are still available for the match which is in support of the Children's Heart Unit Fund (CHUF). Call the Falcons Ticket Hotline on 0871 226 6060 or click here to snap up your tickets now!
Newcastle: 15 Greg Goosen, 14 Tom Bedford, 13 Jamie Helleur, 12 James Fitzpatrick, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Jimmy Gopperth (c), 9 Chris Pilgrim, 1 Grant Shiells, 2 Rob Vickers, 3 Euan Murray, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 5 Tim Swinson, 6 Ally Hogg , 7 Will Welch, 8 Mark Wilson
Replacements: 16 Michael Mayhew, 17 Jonny Golding, 18 Ashley Wells, 19 Andrew van der Heijden, 20 Taiasina Tu'ifua , 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Rikki Sherrife
