'It's Friday night in Newcastle - there will be some drunk Geordies and some entertaining characters'
Adopted Geordie Mark Wilson expects Newcastle to embrace its maiden England international as a valuable chance to grow the game in the North East. Eddie Jones’ World Cup hopefuls play their final warm-up Test against Italy at St James’ Park on Friday night before heading to Japan 48 hours later.
From a logistics point of view, it will be the easiest of England fixtures for Wilson, who lives 10 minutes from the ground. The Cumbrian moved to Newcastle as a 14-year-old and in 2010 began playing for the Falcons, ensuring a rousing welcome for the rugged flanker.
“Hopefully I will get an alright reception,” said Wilson, who has been loaned to Sale next season after Newcastle were relegated from the Gallagher Premiership. “We had photos the other day. I had to put both strips on so that might not go down so well!
“It’s Friday night in Newcastle. There will be some drunk Geordies and some entertaining characters. It will be a good atmosphere. My favourite games at the Falcons were always Friday nights because there is a bit of a buzz. Everyone’s finished work and had a few drinks.
“It will certainly be very special. All my youth, if you wanted to watch England you had to go down to Twickenham to see them. I’m sure it will be pretty special for young north-east kids who love rugby to be able to go to St James’ Park and watch England play.
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“For families up north, getting to Twickenham is quite a big effort. I never got the chance to go as a kid which is why this Friday night will be so special for youngsters in the north. I’m pretty sure a lot of families will make some pretty good memories.
“It will do good for rugby in the region. I remember the 2015 World Cup when games were played there. You could feel the excitement around the place, everyone was talking about it. There is a bit of a boost which will hopefully encourage a bit of a chain reaction in terms of boosting rugby in the area.”
‘You would be saying thank you because the pinnacle for rugby in England is for the national team to be successful and Saracens produce players that make England better’
– Brendan Venter tells @chrisjonespress exactly why @Saracens should be praisedhttps://t.co/ZkuEbkwJC6— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2019
Wilson, who lines up in a back row that also includes Billy Vunipola and Tom Curry, will be watched playing for England by his mum for the first time in 15 outings.
“My mum never watches so she will be in the stands, which will be pretty special. She doesn’t like big crowds. With this one being in Newcastle I don’t think she had an excuse,” he said.
“My wife Amy’s family had season tickets at Newcastle. Her Dad actually took a penalty at Alan Shearer’s testimonial and missed. As long as I am more successful than him that will be alright!”
– Press Association
WATCH: The RugbyPass stadium guide to Sapporo where England will open their World Cup campaign against Tonga
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments