Michael Young once again captains the side from scrum-half, Newcastle looking to avenge last weekend’s 38-17 away defeat against the same opposition in what is their final match before the start of the Gallagher Premiership next weekend.

Tom Penny lines up at full-back in a back three which sees Ben Stevenson drafted in on the left wing, Toby Flood starting at inside centre with Brett Connon coming in at fly-half.

Trevor Davison and Logovi’i Mulipola start at prop as George McGuigan retains his place at hooker – Darren Barry joining the second row while former England Under-20s star Josh Basham earns a start at open-side.

The Falcons have gone with a 15-man bench as they look to give valuable game time to as many players as possible in their first home game for exactly eight months, director of rugby Dean Richards aware of just how useful the match is ahead of the new campaign.

“Friday’s game is another chance for us to have a look at the boys in a proper match scenario, and for combinations to gel,” said the Falcons boss, whose team open up away to Bath next Saturday.

“Pre-season games are more about putting things in place rather than the result itself, although that is not to excuse aspects of our performance last weekend against an Ealing team who acquitted themselves really well on the day.

“Once again we know we will be up against a good level of opposition, and it’s the ideal kind of test going into the Gallagher Premiership season.”

Fans can follow Friday’s action with in-game updates on the Falcons’ twitter feed, with a match report and reaction piece to follow after the final whistle.

**Newcastle Falcons team v Ealing Trailfinders (Friday, 3pm, Kingston Park Stadium)**

15 Tom Penny

14 Adam Radwan

13 Luther Burrell

12 Toby Flood

11 Ben Stevenson

10 Brett Connon

9 Michael Young (captain)

1 Trevor Davison

2 George McGuigan

3 Logovi’i Mulipola

4 Greg Peterson

5 Darren Barry

6 Sean Robinson

7 Josh Basham

8 Gary Graham

**Replacements**

16 Bailey Ransom

17 Kyle Cooper

18 Rodney Ah You

19 Rob Farrar

20 Connor Collett

21 Matthew Ward

22 Joel Matavesi

23 Pete Lucock

1 Adam Brocklebank

2 Jamie Blamire

3 Mark Tampin

8 Tom Marshall

9 Sam Stuart

10 Joel Hodgson

15 Tom Arscott