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Newcastle Falcons' Luther Burrell
Newcastle Falcons will be aiming to maintain an outstanding recent sequence on the road in the EPCR Challenge Cup on Friday night, when they visit Biarritz Olympique.
The Gallagher Premiership club have won each of their last four away games in the pool stage of the competition, their best such run, after losing the previous six.
Other key facts:
- The only previous season when Biarritz and Newcastle have met in the Challenge Cup was during the pool stage of 1997/98, with each team winning their home game.
- Biarritz have only lost two of their 12 home games in the pool stage of the Challenge Cup (W10), but one of those defeats came in the most recent such match, against Sale Sharks in January 2014.
- Newcastle and Biarritz are two of five teams with a 100% success rate on their own scrum in the Challenge Cup this season.
- Luther Burrell provided two assists in Newcastle’s first game in the Challenge Cup this season, against Worcester Warriors, one of the three players to have made a brace of assists in a game this season alongside Benetton’s Callum Braley and Lyon’s Jonathan Pelissie.
🦅 @mikebrown_15 captains @FalconsRugby for the first time as they head to @BOPBweb tomorrow…
He'll be up against another English skipper as @Magicsteffo7 leads the French side 👨✈️#ChallengeCupRugby Round 3 team news ➡️ https://t.co/rwu4sIR7K0 pic.twitter.com/gmDCmBKZWS
— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 13, 2022
Quotes:
Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards: “The boys want to go out to France and make a statement, and this tournament is important for us. We want to really go after European honours and I’ve always loved the European competitions.”
Newcastle centre George Wacokecoke in action in last season's Challenge Cup
Centre George Wacokecoke scored a try in the last play of the game as Newcastle Falcons grabbed a dramatic 17-13 win at Biarritz Olympique in the EPCR Challenge Cup on Friday night.
Newcastle led at half time in the Pool A encounter thanks to a try from scrum-half Sam Stuart, with Biarritz’s only response a Brett Herron penalty.
Brett Connon kicked Newcastle further in front after the break, but flanker Tornike Jalagonia went over for Biarritz on 63 minutes, with Gilles Bosch nudging the conversion to draw the hosts level.
They left it late, but @FalconsRugby kept their unbeaten start to the competition going in dramatic fashion 🦅👏#ChallengeCupRugby highlights 👇 pic.twitter.com/LtYoGjw5Rb
— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 14, 2022
Herron then slotted his second penalty of the game on 72 minutes as Biarritz looked to have done enough to secure a second win in this season’s EPCR Challenge Cup.
However, Newcastle would have the final say as Wacokecoke went over in the corner and made it two wins from two in the competition for the Gallagher Premiership side.
Newcastle face a trip to RC Toulon in Round 4 next weekend, while Biarritz not in EPCR Challenge Cup action again until they host the three-time European champion in Round 5.
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