Newcastle v Saracens Friday 7.45

[fivepointer]

Newcastle Red Bulls v Saracens (Friday, 7.45pm, Kingston Park, live on Discovery+)

15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Max Clark, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Luan de Bruin, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Cameron Neild, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Amanaki Mafi.

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Fergus Lee-Warner, 21 Freddie Lockwood, 22 James Elliott, 23 Elliott Obatoyinbo.

Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Simon Benitez Cruz, Tim Cardall, Tom Christie, Stefan Coetzee, Joe Davis, Connor Doherty, Joel Grayson.

Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Brandon Jackson, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl (captain); 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Theo Dan, 3 Marco Riccioni, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Nathan Michelow, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Tom Willis.

Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Olamide Sodeke, 21 Charlie Bracken, 22 Cameron Hutchison, 23 Noah Caluori.

Referee: Adam Leal.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Caluori in line for Prem debut!

[FKAS]

Fergus Burke, poor sod, has got handbrakes either side with van Zyl and Farrell.

[fivepointer]

van Zyl captain too, which means its unlikely Bracken will be introduced much before the 78th minute.

[Which Tyler]

IMO The only time a SH should be skipper is when you've an old-fashioned re who won't let anyone but the captain talk to them.
Otherwise they've got too much on their plate, and part of a captain's job is to over-rule the SH who should be looking for the tap-and-go from just about any penalty.

Same goes for FHs as well - enough on their plate, and a tendency to try to do everything themselves when given the arm-band.
Your play-by-play game managers should not be captains.

[FKAS]

van Zyl captain too, which means its unlikely Bracken will be introduced much before the 78th minute.

Not with the Ice Man back in the side. He'll be acting like the captain with or without the arm band.

[Which Tyler]

Hang on - isn't Farrell a Lion - and therefore not allowed to play until the 4th week?

Or is it that the rules simply don't apply to Saracens?

[Puja]

Hang on - isn't Farrell a Lion - and therefore not allowed to play until the 4th week?

Or is it that the rules simply don't apply to Saracens?

I think there are exceptions if they didn't play the whole tour - hence Tomos Williams getting to turn out for Gloucester tonight. I expect Fazlet will likely play most of the season at 12 (impeding Olly Hartley), as Sarries will have promised the 10 shirt to Burke when he signed and Farrell will fancy his chances of more England caps better at 12 than at 10. We'll see how he goes doing it week-in-week-out.

Supposed to be a decent crowd for this one - Newcastle's newly enriched marketing department have apparently been working the universities and freshers' fairs with discounts and offers, so could be quite a noisy one too. It's hardly a world-beating XV that they're putting out, but it's a solid side that's a hell of lot better than last year, and there'll be a lot more belief and optimism around the camp - it's far from impossible to see them getting a result here, especially since Sarries look a lot less scary without their Lions and a few other players missing.

Puja

[FKAS]

Hang on - isn't Farrell a Lion - and therefore not allowed to play until the 4th week?

Or is it that the rules simply don't apply to Saracens?

I think there are exceptions if they didn't play the whole tour - hence Tomos Williams getting to turn out for Gloucester tonight. I expect Fazlet will likely play most of the season at 12 (impeding Olly Hartley), as Sarries will have promised the 10 shirt to Burke when he signed and Farrell will fancy his chances of more England caps better at 12 than at 10. We'll see how he goes doing it week-in-week-out.

Supposed to be a decent crowd for this one - Newcastle's newly enriched marketing department have apparently been working the universities and freshers' fairs with discounts and offers, so could be quite a noisy one too. It's hardly a world-beating XV that they're putting out, but it's a solid side that's a hell of lot better than last year, and there'll be a lot more belief and optimism around the camp - it's far from impossible to see them getting a result here, especially since Sarries look a lot less scary without their Lions and a few other players missing.

Puja

Hartley is currently injured so not being impeded currently. Burke might not cherish the idea of playing 10 alongside Farrell barking orders from 12 all season. Be interesting to see how that one plays out.

Falcons actually have a half decent bench for this one, that's a big change from the last few years.

[Mellsblue]

Caluori in line for Prem debut!

What do you Noah bout him?

[Captainhaircut]

The Farrell bullshit has begun..

“Owen Farrell masterclass” according to Rugby pass.

Telegraph: “All eyes were on Owen Farrell and he did not disappoint, delivering a commanding and abrasive display, bringing a new dimension to Saracens’ attacking game by offering himself as a second playmaker outside of fly-half Fergus Burke. Farrell’s presence seemed to bring the best out of Burke.”

10 passes, 6 kicks, 1 carry for 0 metres, 8 tackles completed, 2 tackles missed. No real involvement in any of the 5 tries.

Masterclass indeed. Looks like he’ll play plenty at 12 which will keep Hartley out of the side. Brilliant stuff.

[fivepointer]

Oh gawd. The Guardian weigh in with -
"Farrell, starting at inside centre for Saracens for the first time in a decade, was a commanding presence for the visitors. He looks a touch bulkier so perhaps No 12 is his future position for club, and maybe even country"

Even country....a phrase that will send a shudder through every right thinking rugby persons core.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Caluori in line for Prem debut!

What do you Noah bout him?

That he can score tries, that’s for sure

[Which Tyler]

I'm feeling confident in my prediction for "biggest disappointment"

[Epaminondas Pules]

Only a small came but Sodeke looked good. Could be a big season for him this one!

[FKAS]

Oh gawd. The Guardian weigh in with -
"Farrell, starting at inside centre for Saracens for the first time in a decade, was a commanding presence for the visitors. He looks a touch bulkier so perhaps No 12 is his future position for club, and maybe even country"

Even country....a phrase that will send a shudder through every right thinking rugby persons core.

When we saw the lineout there was a sad inevitability about the headlines that would follow.

The scoreline flattered Sarries, Newcastle had plenty of chances but the attack just lacked any real cutting edge, it was all too easy to defend. As they build up the cohesion and possibly change 10 then things might improve but they can't be that toothless going forward.