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You have to go back to 2010 for the last time the Newcastle Falcons won on the road in France in Europe and Dean Richards' side will at least head to Brive knowing quite a lot about the opposition. - 11/11/2015 19:34
You have to go back to 2010 for the last time the Newcastle Falcons won on the road in France in Europe and Dean Richards’ side will at least head to Brive knowing quite a lot about the opposition.
For this will be the 11th time the two teams have faced each other in the European Rugby Challenge Cup with the honours even at five wins each. You might also be able to predict a close contest given that seven of the 10 games were decided by one score or less.
The Falcons last won at Stade Amédée-Domenech in the fifth round of the 2007/08 season when they went through to the semi-finals. A converted try from Toby Flood, along with four penalties from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, set up a famous 19-12 victory.
Since then there have been two further trips to Brive which resulted in defeats (36-22 and 23-16) and the Falcons’ last win on French soil came at Albi in 2010. Brive currently sit in fifth place in the Top 14, while Richards’ men are bottom of the Aviva Premiership after four rounds.
But one man who is hoping to use the opening game of Pool 3 to make an impact is No 8 Mark Wilson, who is back in contention for a place after recovering from an injury sustained in September.
“It has been nine weeks now since I’ve been out so I can’t wait to get out there and to get back on the field with the boys. I want to try to get a full 80 minutes under my belt,” said Wilson.
“It’s been frustrating for everyone this season, but we’ve had a really good week so far and the European stuff is brilliant – it gives you a chance to get that excitement, energy and buzz back. I hoping it will give everyone that bit of a lift.
“It’s great for the boys who haven’t played that much to stake their claim for a first-team spot and to keep the guys who are in the team at the minute on their toes. There is a real good mix of youth and experience, which it was last year.
“I just hope we come out with the energy and enthusiasm that we talked about to give a good challenge. We know they are a physical side that will take you on up front and we’ll need to match them in that area.”
Match Facts
- These teams have faced each other on 10 occasions in the Challenge Cup with honours split evenly at five wins apiece, however Brive have won the last four in a row.
- Seven of the 10 matches between these sides have been decided by single figure margins.
- Brive were winless in their last Challenge Cup campaign and they are currently on a seven game losing streak.
- Six of Newcastle's last eight losses in the Challenge Cup have come at the hands of French teams, including two defeats to Brive.
- Newcastle have won their opening match in their last 11 Challenge Cup campaigns, the last time they opened a campaign with a loss was in 2000/01 against Benetton Treviso.
Brive became the early pace-setters in European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool One as they held-on to claim a 13-9 triumph over Newcastle Falcons. - 13/11/2015 20:40
Brive became the early pace-setters in European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool One as they held-on to claim a 13-9 triumph over Newcastle Falcons.
The French side made a lightning start thanks to a Elia Radikedike score and never looked back. Nicolas Bezy added eight points from the boot to cancel out Tom Catterick’s three penalties, and the Falcons could not muscle their way over the try-line in the final minutes.
The Falcons saved their best for the Challenge Cup last season, fighting through to the quarter-final stage. But they made a slow start this season, falling behind after just five minutes through Radikedike. Bezy added the extras for an early 7-0 lead.
Things looked to be getting worse for Dean Richards’ men when Bezy made it 10-0 just after the half-an-hour mark, but Dan Temm won a penalty straight from kickoff and Tom Catterick pulled it back to within seven points. But discipline was proving to be an issue for the Falcons, and they once again gave Bezy the chance to take his side in 10 points up at half-time, and he obliged.
The second-half started the way the first ended, with Catterick cutting the gap back down to seven after 44 minutes. The Newcastle marksman started the second-half as he ended the first, with a successful penalty to cut the gap to just four points.
It was one way traffic from that moment, with the Falcons camped in Brive territory. Some dogged Brive defence repelled the English side, and they managed to hold on to secure a 13-9 triumph and a winning start to their Challenge Cup campaign.
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