Saints v Falcons preview
Newcastle Falcons will add a new venue onto the list of grounds they have played Aviva Premiership rugby on this weekend, when the travel to Stadium:MK to face Northampton Saints on Saturday (KO 13:45)
With the Saints’ Franklins Gardens home undergoing redevelopment works, the 30,787 capacity stadium will play host to the round two fixtures, with both sides looking for a first win of the new season.
The Saints fell to a last gasp drop goal on their visit to Worcester Warriors last weekend, after taking a 79th minute lead at Sixways, with flanker Jamie Gibson highlighting discipline and ball retention as areas to work on heading into the weekend’s game.
The last meeting between the two teams came at the turn of the year, in an epic encounter settled in favour of the Saints 39-31 in Northampton.
Despite the disappointment of a loss, the Falcons were able to take solace as a solid set-piece platform and an ambitious outlook served them well. With tries from Chris Harris, Richard Mayhew, George McGuigan and Alex Tait taking a well earned bonus point back to the North East.
With both sides having now welcomed back the majority of their world cup representatives, it promises to be an exciting afternoon, with two strong squads available to Directors of Rugby Dean Richards and Jim Mallinder to choose their match day 23s from.
Both teams will be announced at Midday on Friday, while squad interviews previewing the game will be published today and tomorrow.
Places remain available on the official supporters coach travelling to Stadium:MK with fares of £25 for adults and £15 for Under 16s (excluding match tickets) This departs Kingston Park at 07:00, Washington Services (Southbound A1) at 07:20 and Scotch Corner Southbound exit sliproad at 07:50
For those staying at home, the club’s official Twitter account and free app will carry live text commentary, with post match reports and reaction on the official website late on Saturday afternoon.
