Newcastle Falcons team to face Bordeaux-Begles (Saturday, 3.15pm, Kingston Park Stadium)

15 Simon Hammersley
14 Alex Tait
13 Tom Penny
12 Josh Matavesi
11 Adam Radwan
10 Craig Willis
9 Sam Stuart
1 Sam Lockwood
2 Ben Sowrey
3 Scott Wilson
4 Calum Green
5 Will Witty
6 Mark Wilson (captain)
7 Gary Graham
8 Ryan Burrows

Replacements
16 Jamie Blamire
17 Rob Vickers
18 Trevor Davison
19 Glen Young
20 Harrison Orr
21 Joel Hodgson
22 Charlie Wilson
23 Zach Kibirige

Bordeaux-Begles

15 Nans Ducuing
14 Geoffrey Cros
13 Pablo Uberti
12 Romain Lonca
11 Fa'asui Fuatai
10 Matthieu Jalibert
9 Yann Lesgourgues (captain)
1 Sébastien Taofifenua
2 Adrien Pélissié
3 Vadim Cobilas
4 Luke Jones
5 Cyril Cazeaux
6 Mahamadou Diaby
7 Alexandre Roumat
8 Leroy Houston

Replacements
16 Ole Avei
17 Thierry Paiva
18 Jean-Baptiste Poux
19 Pierre Gayraud
20 Cameron Woki
21 Gauthier Doubrere
22 Ben Volavola
23 Julien Rey

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales).

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Onwards and Upwards!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2017 13:27 by aidanb.

[www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk]

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Onwards and Upwards!

WWW!

Any one know what’s happened to Davey Wilson, was back a few weeks ago but disappeared?!

A stronger Bordeaux-Begles side than I thought they would put out, I thought there would of been a lot more younger players in for them.

Quite close to the team that Bourdeaux put out in their last Top 14 game -


15. Ducuing, 14. Cros, 13. Dubie, 12. Talebula, 11. Fuatai ; 10. Jalibert, 9. Serin ; 7. Goujon, 8. Houston, 6. Diaby ; 5. Marais (cap), 4. Jones ; 3. Cobilas, 2. Maynadier, 1. Taofifenua.

Les remplaçants : 16. Pelissié, 17. Kovekalu, 18. Cazeux, 19. Woki, 20. Lesgourgues, 21. Uberti, 22. Volavola, 23. Poux

"Any one know what’s happened to Davey Wilson, was back a few weeks ago but disappeared?!"

Hi, unfortunately Davey has a foot injury and will be out for a few months

Davey as everyone knows was once a top international player but has hardly played for us due to constant injuries and when he has played he was a long way short of his best and during his latter time at Bath injuries and poor form were again the case which sadly seen to indicate his playing days are about numbered.

Cheers Mark, it’s a shame. Upside is with Wilson jr back, Welsh & the emergence of Davison, as well as the Canadian takes the pressure off rushing Davey back.

Strong side from Bordeaux. Didn't realise Houston had joined them. This will be a difficult game.

Looks like they want revenge by that strong team. We need to top the group and hopefully be 1,2,3 seeded so we get aa home quarter final pull more revenue for the club

And what a fantastic game and performance so far.

The belief to attack and go for it has been great to watch. That last try in the 1st half was just amazing!

How has Sowery not been getting more game time, he's been immense!

Good performance excellent result against a very decent French side.
Last try before half time - brilliant build up completed by absolute French farce.

Excellent performance and result. Get Radwan a decent term contract. Liked the back row combination. Sam Stuart- Craig Willis a good 9/10 pairing. Matavesi looked strong. Lots of positives.

Five points to nil against what, at least paper, was strong-looking opposition is a job well-done. However, the first half performance was a lot more impressive.As Flatman said on the highlights show recently, the Falcons are a very good team when they are 'at it'. They are a lot worse when in second gear.

52 - 24 the final score for those interested.

Offy report

Willis is too inconsistent for me. He does some things very well, like running with ball in hand and can be creative.

But, his kicking from hand isn’t great, kicks to nowhere in particular and one restart went out on the full. He butchered a try when should have gone wide for a simple run in but went himself and came up short. As well as the telegraphed pass for Bordeaux’s intercept try.

Hodgson had a couple of brain freeze moments when he came on, a hospital pass for Hammersley and a kick charged down by taking an age to kick it.

Burrows played well, is a natural number eight and deserves a place in the Premiership matchday squad.

Mark Wilson was noticeable around the field. My impression is he plays better when not alongside Welch. Is it because they’re too similar? Maybe they’re six and a half’s, in Eddie Jones’ parlance, and don’t play well together?

Sowery had a very good game, his try was just ridiculous, power and pace.

Radwan frightens defences with his speed, gliding through for a couple of tries.

On a bitterly cold day our handling, offloading and attacking play was really good to watch.

Pleasing to see Lockwood and Penny getting some game time. I think both are very good players and can challenge for regular first team squad places when match-fit.

An enjoyable and entertaining match.

Time now to thaw out.

Some really good performances today, I think some players will be pushing for a first team place.

Can anyone tell me why their starting 9 was allowed back on the pitch?
Are "rolling substitutes" now allowed?

Great game tonight – a good team and some excellent individual performances against decent opposition. Burrows, Witty, Wilson and Penny all looked good.
I was also about to post how well Willis played.
He makes things happen - and to do that at number 10. you can't play safe and conservative. The odd mistake inevitably occurs and these seem to get the attention. But lets not morph into the England football team where the focus has been on not making a mistake!

What an absolutely splendid afternoon's entertainment. Some excellent performances and a try from Willis to savour in its build up. I was so pleased to see the way that Lockwood and Sowrey played.Well worth being out in the cold.

Ruthless performance. Was surprised by how poor Bordeaux were in defence considering their stong side (on paper). They were no slouches. We played so much better when we were playing front foot, running rugby rather than the kicking game we saw at the start of the second half.

I had either Sowery or Witty down as man of the match. Glad Witty put in a big performance. He seems to me to be very much a confidence player, I hope he can use this to get back to the form he showed before he broke his arm last season. Sowery is great in the loose and his scrummaging/lineout was solid. I actually enjoyed his solo effort more than the team try before half time. I just loved the fact that he outpaced their impressive fly half and held off their winger, both very quick players. I can't really recall Sowery. having a bad game and I hope he gets more opportunities. With him, Cooper, Socino, Lawson and Blamire coming through we have good depth at hooker.

The biggest positives to take out of the game was that we secured maximum points, whilst one of our main group rivals left with nothing AND Lockwood/Penny return. Lockwood showed that his long term injury had no effects on his performance and I expect him to become our main starting loosehead.

Quote:

Robs
Can anyone tell me why their starting 9 was allowed back on the pitch?
Are "rolling substitutes" now allowed?

Did he actually leave the pitch

He moved to fullback as the sub 8 cane on and I suspect he may not have actually got off the pitch at all

Quote:

exhooker
What an absolutely splendid afternoon's entertainment. Some excellent performances and a try from Willis to savour in its build up. I was so pleased to see the way that Lockwood and Sowrey played.Well worth being out in the cold.

Here Here

Sowery was outstanding! Best hooker we have IMO, liked the nickname the pundits gave him...The gas man.....think that will stick!

Quote:

Thenomad
Sowery was outstanding! Best hooker we have IMO, liked the nickname the pundits gave him...The gas man.....think that will stick!

So we have The Chopper and The Gas man both awaiting their turn in the Prem.

I also think Burrows needs a mention in the speedster stakes for his second half break which was magnificent

I thought the big plus point from yesterday was the front row. Both Lockwood and Scotty Wilson looked solid up against a pair of traditional XXL Top 14 props. Sowery had his best game for us and both Willis and Whitty were outstanding.

When we run with the ball, we are really good. When we decide to go conservative and start playing up field anywhere kick ball we really lose momentum and advantage. However, a win at Dragons should see us quality for the last eight and that would be more fantastic progress, especially if we can get a home tie. Well done boys!!

The build up to the final try of the first half was nothing short of sensational, it deserved a rather better finish than the panto ending for Willis to touch down.

Sowery seems to be the forgotten man yet when you do catch his all too fleeting appearances he always looks good, just hope he’s not another Ben Harris. Not going to be popular here but I’d love too see Radwan get a few games in Sinoti’s place to show us what he can do in the league, he is some talent.

The game was great fun and helps ease the pain from the other panto down at Gallowgate.

The scrum was generally a shambles again, kudos for our ability to get it out within 0.005secs so we didn't get pinged!

Past the scrum, the pack was just awesome, great to see. Willis getting a bit of bad rap, I thought he played really well and is developing really well. He's going to make the odd mistake but I think he's a real talent and will hopefully be our starting 10 in a year or two.

Radwan must be pushing for a bench place at least, the guy has wheels!

Some tough decisions for Deano coming back into the AP. Lockwood, Witty, Burrows all throwing their hats in the ring for a starting spot.

Genuinely, one of the best halves of rugby I've seen in a long time.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2017 14:34 by Pool_falcon.

I can forgive Willis a couple of errors given his general performance - he's got speed of thought and seems to assess situations and respond accordingly rather than 'playing by numbers' as some 10s do. He's still young and that bodes well for the future I think.

Nobody's really mentioned him but I thought Matavesi was outstanding. His play at the breakdown has been excellent in his last few games (one turnover he won in particular yesterday was very impressive) but he can also make yards and has got decent hands.

Witty and Sowrey also superb as people have mentioned. Radwan is a menace to defences. At some points Bordeaux looked genuinely scared of him. Hugely entertaining game of rugby.

Agree that Matavesi looked good yesterday. His conditioning is so much improved from the pre season friendlies. I like to see modern pros having a pint but he was carrying some serious timber at the time.
Yesterday's game was enhanced by the fact that BB came to play.

Really do not get some posters comments about our scrum. Far from a shambles in my opinion.
I thought our pack was outstanding against a very abrasive Bordeaux pack.
Some very impressive performances by some of the guys which will be making selection interesting for out next Premiership game.
Credit where credit is due...we looked very good yesterday with pretty much a second string side.
At least half a dozen guys knocking on the door for first team selection which will keep a lot of the guys on their toes. Ryan Burrows in particular for me was superb!!

I could be completely wrong with this but Matavesi being selected as starting 12 makes me think that JPS will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season. I really hope that I'm wrong as he's a fan favourite and has been fully committed to the cause.

Oh and I actually preferred the balance of the back row. Wilson, Graham and Burrows individually offer something different.

JPS isn't in the European squad.

To be fair I thought our scrum was good with Lockwood and Wilson in there, just remember that was a massive pack especially the props Bordeaux had.

Quote:

aidanb

Quote:

Robs
Can anyone tell me why their starting 9 was allowed back on the pitch?
Are "rolling substitutes" now allowed?

Did he actually leave the pitch

He moved to fullback as the sub 8 cane on and I suspect he may not have actually got off the pitch at all

Thanks Aidan
I watched it again last night and I think you're right
9 never left the pitch. He moved to wing then full back



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2017 06:41 by Robs.

Enjoyable game, Willis makes things happen. he might make the odd mistake but for me that's because he's always trying to do something positive. Burrows must be in with a shout at a league start, I thought he was outstanding, as were all the front 5.

Quote:

Robs

Quote:

aidanb

Quote:

Robs
Can anyone tell me why their starting 9 was allowed back on the pitch?
Are "rolling substitutes" now allowed?

Did he actually leave the pitch

He moved to fullback as the sub 8 cane on and I suspect he may not have actually got off the pitch at all

Thanks Aidan
I watched it again last night and I think you're right
9 never left the pitch. He moved to wing then full back

I remember at the time wondering why they had taken their best player off and commented on it to the lads i was with only for him to be spotted seconds later in the full back spot.

I thought he was their best player by a mile.

We conceded a pen nearly every put in from the opposition in the 2nd half. We were walked backwards around 1-5m despite getting the ball out super quickly on own ball.

Do people actually think that we have a good scrum?

I honestly don't know which games some of you watch when you say our scrum went well, it's been hammered just about every game. The number of pens we've conceded in the scrum must be in the 50's this season, I'd love to see the stats, and not the misleading completion percentage that some posters seem to think warrants a good set-piece.

We have got getting the ball out quickly to a real fine art, it's impressive....but thi sis because our scrum is so awful game after game.

Quote:

Cantabrian
I thought the big plus point from yesterday was the front row. Both Lockwood and Scotty Wilson looked solid up against a pair of traditional XXL Top 14 props. Sowery had his best game for us and both Willis and Whitty were outstanding.
When we run with the ball, we are really good. When we decide to go conservative and start playing up field anywhere kick ball we really lose momentum and advantage. However, a win at Dragons should see us quality for the last eight and that would be more fantastic progress, especially if we can get a home tie. Well done boys!!

So bizarre to completely change tactics at half time that were working so well. Minutes 40 - 60 were painful.

Quote:

Pool_falcon
We conceded a pen nearly every put in from the opposition in the 2nd half. We were walked backwards around 1-5m despite getting the ball out super quickly on own ball.
Do people actually think that we have a good scrum?

I honestly don't know which games some of you watch when you say our scrum went well, it's been hammered just about every game. The number of pens we've conceded in the scrum must be in the 50's this season, I'd love to see the stats, and not the misleading completion percentage that some posters seem to think warrants a good set-piece.

We have got getting the ball out quickly to a real fine art, it's impressive....but thi sis because our scrum is so awful game after game.

Maybe those same people wonder what game you watch...

I thought our scrum was more than adequate.

I've still got the the game recorded I'll have to re-watch it. I thought our scrum was ok

Quote:

Bedlington Lad
I've still got the the game recorded I'll have to re-watch it. I thought our scrum was ok

Watch it closely!

I understand that some posters on here don't really understand the scrum, that's fine, there's areas of the game I don't quite get either.

I think we held our own no more than 3 or 4 times. Watch how Wilson (in the 2nd half as the camera was on our TH side) starts solid then starts going backwards and folding in making the opposition LH wheel round.

We gave away 4 or 5 pens (at a real guess, maybe more) on their feed, this isn't the sign of a good scrum, we struggled.

Watch how we lose ground on own feed and how we are starting to crumble despite the hooker and 8 doing an outstanding job of getting ball out so fast.

We have adapted to having a poor scrum over the last few years. We are super quick at not making the scrum a contest and try and prevent the opposition from attacking us on own feed. This is all well and good until we are defending and we concede a pen, yet again.

I'm far from being a naysayer, I thought we were outstanding in parts....some of the attacking play was the best I've seen for years. I just would like us to fix the scrum as it's a problem.