Preview: Newcastle v London Irish
Newcastle welcome back Scotland centre Andy Henderson and Samoan lock Filipo Levi, as they host London Irish on Saturday.
Newcastle welcome back centre Andy Henderson and lock Filipo Levi, as they host London Irish in Saturday's Aviva Premiership clash at Kingston Park.
The international pair come into the side for Rob Vickerman and James Hudson respectively, with skipper Hudson sidelined for around two months after injuring his hamstring last weekend at Exeter.
In Hudson's absence hooker Rob Vickers captains the side, with the Falcons looking for their second home win of the season after a 29-17 victory over London Wasps in their last Kingston Park outing.
On the bench there could be an Aviva Premiership debut for hooker Joe Graham, with the Cumbrian returning to fitness after injuring an ankle in pre-season.
Meanwhile, London Irish head coach Toby Booth has shown faith in the side that comfortably defeated Gloucester last weekend by naming an unchanged XV.
The Exiles will be looking to continue their fine start to the Aviva Premiership campaign at Kingston Park, where they are unbeaten in their last six visits.
London Irish go into the match in second place in the Premiership and have once again opted for consistency as they name an unchanged starting line-up for the second time this season.
The only squad change sees Samoan winger Sailosi Tagicakibau selected on the bench after missing the past two matches with a sprained ankle.
“I was very pleased with the manner of our victory over Gloucester last weekend. Once again we were defensively excellent and very dominant in the scrum,” said Booth.
“We have spoken about the different challenges of playing away from home against teams like Newcastle, and as a squad we are very clear what we need to do to be successful, both individually and collectively.”
Form: Newcastle Falcons' three games of the Aviva Premiership so far have all been won by the home side on the day. The Falcons have not gained a bonus-point try at Kingston Park in the Premiership since the opening round of the 2007/08 season! London Irish have won two of their three games so far, whilst the Exiles have won just once on their travels in 2010: 23-13 at relegated Worcester on 10 April. Newcastle's only victory over London Irish in their last nine meetings in all competitions since February 2006 was 15-11 at Madejski Stadium on 22 November 2009. The Exiles are unbeaten in their last six visits to Kingston Park.
The teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Luke Eves, 12 Andy Henderson, 11 Charlie Amesbury, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Micky Young, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Redford Pennycook, 6 Brent Wilson, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Filipo Levi, 3 Tim Ryan, 2 Rob Vickers (c), 1 Jon Golding.
Replacements: 16 Joe Graham, 17 Micky Ward, 18 Grant Shiells, 19 Glen Townson, 20 Will Welch, 21 Chris Pilgrim, 22 Jeremy Manning, 23 Luke Fielden.
London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11 Jonathan Joseph, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Paul Hodgson,8 George Stowers,7 Declan Danaher,6 Kieran Roche, 5 Bob Casey, 4 Nick Kennedy,3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Buckland, 1 Clarke Dermody (c).
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Alex Corbisiero, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Jonathon Fisher, 21 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 22 Chris Malone, 23 Darren Allinson.
Date: Saturday, 25 September
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 17:05
Referee: Wayne Barnes