POWELL EXPECTING EXCITEMENT AGAINST EXILES
Powell starts for the Falcons at outside centre in an unchanged midfield that will see him again partner half backs Mike Blair and Phil Godman and centre partner Juan Pablo Socino as they look to continue to perform as an effective unit, as they did seven days ago at Welford Road.
While ultimately losing out in that match, the man from Romford believes that the match sets them up well for this weekend’s opening home fixture.
“Leicester away is one of the games that stand out on the fixture list as a tough game and to have it first up is difficult but it’s also one that everybody looks forward to.
“I think we played a really good game and things went really well but in the end, some little mistakes let us down which unfortunately came at big times when we were actually putting them under a lot of pressure. But there were certainly a lot of positives.”
“We’ve gone over the video during the week and we’ve worked on those and the areas where we were disappointed and we’re hopeful of getting the win and getting the season off to a good start.”
With the oft mentioned change of game-plan in evidence throughout pre season and against the Tigers, Sunday will see its first competitive showing on the new 3G synthetic pitch and Powell is confident both will combine to provide an entertaining afternoon.
“The new pitch has made a massive difference and it is quality for attacking rugby. Anyone who saw the game at Leicester will have seen we’re trying to play a more expansive game plan and this pitch will lend itself well to that.”
“On Sunday we’ll have two teams who will look to keep the ball in hand, so I think it will be a battle of two teams, looking to play an expansive game that will hopefully be very exciting and that hopefully will see us execute our game plan better than the opposition and get the win.”
“We want to get a win as quick as we can and after we won here against Irish last year it would be good to do that again especially in front of the home crowd who always come and give us a lot of support.”
Tickets for Sunday’s match are still available by clicking [here][1] or by calling 0871 2266060.
Advance ticket prices are valid until 12Noon on Sunday and tickets purchased for the London Irish game also gain entry into Gateshead Thunder’s Kingstone Press Championship 1 playoff match against Hemel Stags at 6:00pm
[1]: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/newcastle-falcons/details/event.aspx?itemref=2682
