Wilson positive after first Premiership start
Scott Wilson was left frustrated but encouraged after his first Aviva Premiership start for Newcastle Falcons last weekend.
Speaking of a match which saw the Falcons fall 35-10 to Northampton Saints, Melrose-born Wilson said: “It was a frustrating game. We had a much better second half but we were a bit too passive first half and didn’t have the physical edge that we needed.
“We turned it around at half time though and things were more positive as a result. We started playing to our abilities, which is what we should have been doing from the start.”
Having appeared 37 times for the first XV since breaking through from the Falcons Academy against Cross Keys in the 2012-13 British and Irish Cup, Wilson was pleased to play his first full game of Aviva Premiership Rugby despite the score line.
“It was good to get a full 80 minutes under my belt and knowing what I need to do now to move forward and keep pushing on. It was a good experience for me but just a bit frustrating in the end.”
The 20-year-old Tighthead is no stranger to high pressure games, having been part of the England Under 20s side that lifted the Junior World Cup in 2013 before pulling on the white shirt for England Saxons against Ireland Wolfhounds last January.
However, he admits that making his first Premiership start opposite the reigning Aviva Premiership champions was a daunting experience.
“It was pretty tough going but I enjoyed it. I just tried to stick to what I’ve been doing in training because we’ve had a big focus on the scrum this week and that went well with some quite positive outcomes.”
With appearances in two of this season’s three league fixtures so far now under his belt, Wilson is looking to push for more first team game time, despite competing against newly-capped England international Kieran Brookes, versatile USA international Eric Fry and Oliver Tomaszczyk.
The youngster explained: “This season is going well for me. I had a bench against Irish and started this week so I’ll hopefully get a bit more time under my belt. I’m pleased with how things are going for me personally so far and I hope to push on a bit more over the coming season.”
This coming weekend will see the Falcons’ travel South to face Wasps in the Aviva Premiership; speaking of the game Wilson said: “We should be pretty positive looking ahead to Wasps. We had a good end to Sunday’s match and we just have to get that right from the first minute of the first half and we’ll start to show people what we can do.”
Newcastle Falcons’ next home fixture sees them welcome Exeter Chiefs to Kingston Park on Sunday 5th October (ko 3pm). For more information or to buy tickets click [here][1].
[1]: http://www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk/tickets/info
