Preview: Newcastle v Wasps
May 06 2008
Newcastle Falcons have named their team for Wednesday's Guinness Premiership clash against London Wasps at Kingston Park, with eight personnel changes and a number of positional switches from the side which defeated champions Leicester Tigers on Sunday.
In the front row Micky Ward and Matt Thompson replace Jon Golding and Andy Long respectively, with fit-again Mark Sorenson returning to the second row while Russell Winter and Brent Wilson join skipper Phil Dowson in a new-look back row.
Hall Charlton comes in at scrum half for James Grindal, while Ollie Phillips forms part of a reshuffled back line which sees Sale-bound Mathew Tait at outside centre, Tom May dropping to full-back and Steve Jones in at fly-half.
On the bench there is a first team debut for England Students number eight Peter Browne, with England Under-20s fly half Rob Miller also in reserve.
Meanwhile, London Wasps Director of Rugby Ian McGeechan has also made a number of changes to his team.
There is a reshuffle in the back line, where Riki Flutey moves to full-back, Josh Lewsey moves to the wing and Dominic Waldouck comes into the centre. Tom Voyce is rested.
In the forwards, Pat Barnard has won the race to recover from a knee ligament injury and starts alongside Tim Payne and Joe Ward in the front row - Sunday's front row starters Raphaël Ibañez and Tom French are rested and on the bench respectively.
Elsewhere, it's all change as McGeechan calls on fresh legs after Sunday's physical encounter with Gloucester. Only Tom Rees survives from Sunday's starting line-up, with George Skivington and Richard Birkett teaming up in the second row and James Haskell and John Hart joining Rees on the back row. Hart takes the captain's armband in place of rested club captain Lawrence Dallaglio.
A strong bench features four full internationals in the shape of Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, Jeremy Staunton and Mark Van Gisbergen alongside French, hooker James Buckland and scrum half Mark McMillan.
Wednesday's game at Kingston Park is a complete sell-out, with no tickets available on the night.
The teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Tom May, 14 Ollie Phillips, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Tim Visser, 11 John Rudd, 10 Steve Jones, 9 Hall Charlton, 8 Russell Winter, 7 Brent Wilson, 6 Phil Dowson (c), 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Andy Perry, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Matt Thompson, 1 Micky Ward.
Replacements: 16 Rob Vickers, 17 David Wilson, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ed Williamson, 20 Peter Browne, 21 Micky Young, 22 Rob Miller.
London Wasps: 15 Riki Flutey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Dominic Waldouck, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 John Hart (c), 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Richard Birkett, 4 George Skivington, 3 Pat Barnard, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Tom French, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Mark McMillan, 21 Jeremy Staunton, 22 Mark Van Gisbergen.
Date: Wednesday, May 7
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Rob Debney
Touch-judges: Robin Goodliffe, Alan Hughes