Jackson Starts at Fly-Half vs Falcons

By A Jonny-Wilkinson-Free-Zone
January 27 2005

Friday night sees the return of Newcastle Falcons to Vicarage Road, where they will be looking to beat the Men in Black for the first time this season following a 20-20 draw at Kingston Park and a 22-20 defeat here at Vicarage Road in the Powergen Cup.

Since then, the two clubs have had contrasting fortunes. The Falcons have risen to fourth in the ZP and qualified for the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup, whereas Sarries have maintained their lower mid-table position and exited both the Powergen and European Challenge Cups.

The Falcons’ gained their 4th place at the start of 2005, their highest placing of the season but incredibly only 7 points ahead of Sarries in 8th. This shows just how vital this game is to both sides; a Falcons win and their quest for qualification for next year’s Heineken Cup without the need for play-offs is strengthened. Contrast that with the need for a Sarries win, to avoid the ignominy of entering the relegation dogfight and to maintain the possibility of making the very play-offs which the Falcons are trying to avoid.

Personnel-wise, both clubs have suffered badly with injuries. The Falcons are able to welcome back Matt Burke to play at 15 – he is still an absolute class act – and fans of the Wilkinson Family will be happy as well; Mark Wilkinson starts at 10, fresh from his highly-acclaimed performance against the Dragons in the Heineken. They will be without Colin Charvis however, who appears to be suffering from a foot injury. Keep an eye on the rest of the backline, all of whom are lightning quick and capable of doing a lot of damage. I’d suggest The Falcons will be looking for an open game.

For Sarries, the injuries keep on piling up. The latest casualty is Ben Skirving, who has been playing his best rugby in a Saracens shirt during the past few games. The Mighty Ches comes in to play at lock, with Vyvyan moving to his preferred position of 8.

In the backs, the great bone of contention this week has been “who should play 10?”. Criticised by fans and management alike, Glen Jackson gets the nod and is given the opportunity to show everybody just how he can play. There are no other changes to the side which were turned over in the cup last Sunday, the hope must be that those players will remember how to keep hold of the ball and turn the possession into tries and points.

To use an old cliché, it’s a “must win” game for both sides. If Sarries can win enough ball in the forwards (which having seen the teams I think they will) and can remember how to hold on to it then I feel they will win, albeit not by many.

Falcons : 15 Matt Burke, 14 Tom May, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Joe Shaw, 10 Mark Wilkinson, 9 James Grindal, 1 Ian Peel, 2 Andy Long, 3 Micky Ward, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Mike McCarthy, 7 Cory Harris, 8 Phil Dowson.

Saracens : 15 Mark Bartholomeusz, 14 Tevita Vaikona, 13 Thomas Castaignede, 12 Dan Harris, 11 Ben Johnston, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Kyran Bracken, 1 Kevin Yates, 2 Matt Cairns, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Iain Fullarton, 5 Kris Chesney, 6 Taine Randell, 7 Dave Seymour, 8 Hugh Vyvyan.

Referee : Everyone's fave, Ash.