By Mally (02/01/03)
January 2 2003

A New Year and a new start for Newcastle Falcons is needed. Currently propping up the Premiership table, now six points adrift Falcons desperately need a result at Sale. A win would be the perfect start to the New Year. However most of the pundits are writing us off.

To win away at Sale will be tough. An in form Sale Sharks team are capable of beating anyone in the Premiership. However are Sale in form? They like Falcons have been knocked out of the Powergen Cup and lost last weekend.

Sale have 3 players returning from injury and Sharks coach Jim Mallinder believes that Sale have their 'fittest squad for some time'. The England U21 hooker Andy Titterall returns to the squad for the first time since early November, the other players returning from injury being centre Jos Baxendell and second row Dean Schofield.

The Sharks are looking to turn around their recent run of poor performances after four successive defeats in three different competitions during December. Currently second in the Zurich Premiership the Sharks are 'keen to start the New Year with a victory to help maintain their push for a top three finish'.

Mallinder insists that Sale have to disregard our respective positions in the Premiership.

"We have to ignore that. We want to maintain our good league record at home and Newcastle will be keen to turn around their fortunes. It will be a difficult game with both sides having plenty to play for."

Newcastle Falcons have everything to play for – we can not afford to drift further out of touch. With luck Tykes will do us a favour and beat Bath, enabling us to reduce the 6 point gap.

The Sale Sharks Squad:

Jason Robinson, Vaughan Going, Mark Cueto, Steve Hanley, Graeme Bond, Dan Harris, Jos Baxendell, Charlie Hodgson, Nick Walshe, Bryan Redpath, Kevin Yates, Stuart Turner, Barry Stewart, Charl Marais, Andy Titterrell, Iain Fullarton, Dean Schofield, Chris Jones, Alex Sanderson, Pete Anglesea, Stuart Pinkerton, Phil Davies.

So far there is no news on the Falcons squad , though hopefully Jonny Wilkinson will be getting his shirt back from big brother Mark. With Charlie Hodgeson playing flyhalf for Sale this match could well be an audition for the England number 10 slot!

Falcons need to go into this game with the knowledge that we’ve beaten them once this season. While our backs haven’t had the best of seasons so far against Sale at Kingston Park they had one of their better games.

Our forwards have proved themselves to be more than a match for the Sharks pack – a repeat of those two pushover tries would be a brilliant start to the New Year!

At the very least we want to be coming away with a lose bonus point, as to survive we need points from every game left this season. But can we win this game? Yes we can - if we have self belief, confidence and of course a little bit of luck then. The winning streak has to start somewhere – why not at an away game?

It’s a sell out match - so those of us travelling down need loosen up those vocal chords and prepare to try and drown out 5000 Sharks fans!

FALCONS! FALCONS! FALCONS!