Fully fit Hammersley ready for Bath challenge.
The Hull-born 22 year old spoke of his excitement to be returning to the starting line-up, since being side-lined with a calf injury picked up in February’s close fought battle against London Wasps.
“It’s really exciting, I picked up a bit of a calf strain after the game against Wasps, so since then I’ve just been looking to get the opportunity to get back out there.”
With Friday’s fixture marking Hammersley’s return to the starting XV, the Falcons Fullback acknowledged the significance that Kingston Park’s conditions and atmosphere can have on a game.
“It’s fantastic, a few years ago when we had a different pitch you could expect wind and rain on a Friday night game, and it just came down to which team could deal with the conditions better.
“With the weather how it is at the moment, along with the new pitch and the bigger crowds, it just promotes running rugby and a bit more of a spectacle than we’re used to seeing here at Kingston Park.”
Throughout the course of the 2014/15 season, Friday night fixtures have yielded almost entirely positive results, with the Falcons only losing one fixture on a Friday evening.
Hammersley has insisted that despite his undefeated personal record in Friday night fixtures, the day in which the fixture occurs will have little significance on the end result of the game.
“I think whether it’s a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday it doesn’t make too much of a difference regarding how well we perform.
“Evening kick offs always have a bit more of an atmosphere, you’ve got more of the day to prepare for the game so you get really excited about it. I’m just looking forward to being back out there again.”
Third place Bath will be travelling to the North East looking for a win in order to close the gap between them and second place Saracens. Facing a squad filled with big name international players, Hammersley identified the potential threats posed by the Somerset side and how the Falcons will look to neutralise them.
“Up front they have a lot of physical ball carriers, especially in the Back Row. The likes of Francois Louw, Phil Eustace and Leroy Houston will run a lot and run strong.
“Backs wise you have electric players like Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson and Rokoduguni, working alongside ball players like George ford and Ollie Devoto, who are really classy players. We will expect challenges to all aspects of our game. It’s Just a matter of us sticking to our game plan and hopefully we will come out on top.”
Tickets for tonight’s game are still available, with advanced tickets priced at £15 for adult and £7.50 for under 16s, with these price valid until 5pm on match day. After this time, full ticket prices will be in effect.
Tickets can be booked [online][1], by calling the club’s 24 hour Ticket Hotline on 0871 2266060 or in person from the Kingston Park Box Office.
[1]: http://www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk/Pages/Tickets/info
