Tigers vs Falcons

[BFG]

Thompstone is almost definitely wearing 23 this week
I'd love to see Thacker given a go at 12. If this happens then Leicester will have to change their play style. We will see less long passes, and maybe a lot of decoy lines and having Tait as the first receiver. Matt O'Connor also mentioned Catchpole as a possibility too

Forget Catchpole and Thacker as starters for this week. One of them may make the bench because of our injuries but if so then Thompstone will not be in the 23 as we will need Ford and Harrison to cover the half back positions. Falcons are above us and scoring lots of points. To have any chance of a win up there experience and good defence will be paramount. So Tait and Smith in the centres with a back row of Hamilton, Kalamafoni and Mapapalangi are essential as far as I am concerned. Mike Williams can provide impact from the bench. Front row and reserves pick themselves namely Genge, Youngs, Cole, McGuigan, Bateman and Cilliers. 2nd row any 3 from Kitchener, Barrow, Touhy and Wells to make the 23. That leaves Ben Youngs, George Ford, May, Malouf and Veainu to complete the team.

Seems to be a few on here who favour 'resting' some and giving some game time to 'inexperience'....

I suspect they haven't seen the league table in a while, or been watching highlights. Flacons are unrecognisable from last Season.

Falcons's tactical kicking has been superb and they're controlling the tempo of the game well from up front. They've also got a really handy back line - but mostly they've kicked for territory and rumbled the opposition out of the way.

Yes Falcons will have far too much for Catchpole and C Thacker.
Those pitches are all about grip and Falcons will be hard and fast through the gaps but as Roly's post suggests they have evolved their play somewhat to pick their moments better.
It'll be a very tough match if Falcons are on it, but Leicester are playing well also so I expect minimal changes!
It'll be another big test of technique for young Genge' scrummaging on that pitch!

[Roly]

Forget Catchpole and Thacker as starters for this week. One of them may make the bench because of our injuries but if so then Thompstone will not be in the 23 as we will need Ford and Harrison to cover the half back positions. Falcons are above us and scoring lots of points. To have any chance of a win up there experience and good defence will be paramount. So Tait and Smith in the centres with a back row of Hamilton, Kalamafoni and Mapapalangi are essential as far as I am concerned. Mike Williams can provide impact from the bench. Front row and reserves pick themselves namely Genge, Youngs, Cole, McGuigan, Bateman and Cilliers. 2nd row any 3 from Kitchener, Barrow, Touhy and Wells to make the 23. That leaves Ben Youngs, George Ford, May, Malouf and Veainu to complete the team.

Seems to be a few on here who favour 'resting' some and giving some game time to 'inexperience'....

I suspect they haven't seen the league table in a while, or been watching highlights. Flacons are unrecognisable from last Season.

Falcons's tactical kicking has been superb and they're controlling the tempo of the game well from up front. They've also got a really handy back line - but mostly they've kicked for territory and rumbled the opposition out of the way.

Yes Falcons will have far too much for Catchpole and C Thacker.
Those pitches are all about grip and Falcons will be hard and fast through the gaps but as Roly's post suggests they have evolved their play somewhat to pick their moments better.
It'll be a very tough match if Falcons are on it, but Leicester are playing well also so I expect minimal changes!
It'll be another big test of technique for young Genge' scrummaging on that pitch!

Winning away at Kingston Park would, for me, rate more highly than beating Chiefs at home.

[scrum1/2]

Trendylfj - your comment about Bet365 - what is the quality of the streaming like and can you stream it directly to the TV or connect it to the TV via laptop?

[loretta]

15 Telusa Veainu

14 Nick Malouf

13 Matt Smith

12 Mathew Tait

11 Jonny May

10 George Ford

9 Ben Youngs

1 Ellis Genge

2 Tom Youngs (c)

3 Dan Cole

4 Dom Barrow

5 Graham Kitchener

6 Valentino Mapapalangi

7 Brendon O’Connor

8 Sione Kalamafoni



Replacements

16 Harry Thacker

17 Greg Bateman

18 Pat Cilliers

19 Harry Wells

20 Luke Hamilton

21 Sam Harrison

22 Joe Ford

23 Adam Thompstone

[Soggypitch]

Good team given who's available. Nice to see Thacker back in the 23.

Interesting Tait not Smith at 12. Seems to show MOC wants to play with a playmaker at 12 not a crash ball man, which is good to see.

[Chobbsy]

Good team given who's available. Nice to see Thacker back in the 23.

Interesting Tait not Smith at 12. Seems to show MOC wants to play with a playmaker at 12 not a crash ball man, which is good to see.

Tait impressed last week when he came on

[strawclearer]

Good side up against Flood, Goneva, Mermoz et al! Suspect Tait and Smith will interchange and wouldn't be surprised to see Malouf move to 13 late on if Thompstone comes on - score dependant, of course. Be a good one to win!

[Noddy555]

Can't argue with the team as selected probably affected by yet another injury crisis but if Adam Thonpstone is fit enough to be in the squad surely he should be playing in place of Malouf!

[wolverhampton_tiger]

Does anyone know if this match is being shown on tv anywhere/anyhow please?
This will be the first of the season that has not been televised First one we may miss since we’ve moved to Wales

Bet365 look as though they may be streaming the match but schedules change. You need to join with a returnable deposit of £10 in order to watch and enlarge the screen. There is no need to bet and you can get your money back whenever you want. It is a bit fiddly at first but I have watched matches before that are not on normal channels

Thanks for that, just downloaded the app and will watch with interest on Sunday!

[WhitecapTiger]

Can't argue with the team as selected probably affected by yet another injury crisis but if Adam Thonpstone is fit enough to be in the squad surely he should be playing in place of Malouf!

First game back? Makes perfect sense to ease him in off the bench.

Malouf been worth his place.

[JP14]

Thompstone will have to work hard to regain his place with Malouf in good form

[drc_007]

Thompstone will have to work hard to regain his place with Malouf in good form

Isn't it great to have players having to fight for a starting spot because of the good form of the incumbent.

[ourla]

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sonatane Takulua; 1 Rob Vickers, 2 Kyle Cooper, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Calum Green, 5 Sean Robinson, 6 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (c), 8 Nili Latu
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Will Witty, 20 Ally Hogg, 21 Michael Young, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Maxime Mermoz

[trendylfj]

Scrum - "Trendylfj - your comment about Bet365 - what is the quality of the streaming like and can you stream it directly to the TV or connect it to the TV via laptop?"

It appears at 1st on a very small screen which you need to enlarge - like all streaming it depends on your internet speed - I am on 50mg so not a problem. As I said in my 1st post it looks like it is going to be streamed but they do change it. If you deposit £10 you can get it back when you want - no need to bet anything

[tigerburnie]

Their form is pretty good, but not as good as ours, pity we lose our first choice centres, but still fancy we can win this.

COME ON YOU TIGERRrrrrrsssss