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Los Pumas centre Orlando set for Premiership bow
Los Pumas centre Matias Orlando is set to make his Gallagher Premiership debut as Newcastle Falcons name him in their starting line-up to face Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate.
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The 47-times-capped Argentina star has been named at inside centre and is one of three former Jaguares signings: In December, Dean Richard’s side announced the capture of flanker Santiago Grondona and Argentina sevens star Mateo Carreras.
“We’re very happy with how we’ve started [the Gallagher Premiership season],” said head coach Dave Walder. “There was a lot of uncertainty with stepping up a division after such a long break without a game, but we’ve got a lot of momentum. We probably caught Bath on the hop a little bit in our first game, Sale at home wasn’t a great watch but we just about got there, and then we won at Wasps the week after.
“It was disappointing to have the Boxing Day home game against Leicester cancelled because everyone was looking forward to it, but that’s just the world we’re living in at the moment. We were confident going into Boxing Day but it wasn’t to be, and the main thing is you just hope that everyone’s OK down at Leicester.”
Elsewhere No.8 Philip van der Walt also making his Premiership debut in a game which has been moved to a 3pm kick-off. Mark Wilson captains the side having made a successful return from injury in Newcastle’s 26-17 away victory over Castres.
“In all my years in rugby when you talk about someone who keeps themselves in unbelievable shape and gives absolutely everything in training, he’d definitely be in the top few.
“Everyone knows about his ability and leadership on the field, but even when he hasn’t been playing he’s been a big influence behind the scenes. He’s our captain now, he’s matured even more and it’s just great having him around.”
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Sam Stuart, who scored in both of the Falcons’ recent European encounters, starts at scrum-half, with Toby Flood moving to fly-half.
George Wacokecoke comes in to start at outside centre for a Falcons side who have won all three of their Gallagher Premiership games this season, the Kingston Park outfit having also been awarded a further four points from their cancelled Boxing Day match against Leicester Tigers.
Jamie Blamire starts at hooker having earned man-of-the-match honours against Cardiff Blues during the recent European window, while Newcastle’s bench could see a Premiership debut for hooker Charlie Maddison.
“Bristol are a great team to watch, I enjoy what they do and when you look at the spine of their team I think any coach would love having the luxury of so many stars at their disposal.
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“The way they play in terms of attacking from deep reminds me a bit of an NFL philosophy, by which I mean the further back you are the more space there is in front of you.
“It’s very entertaining as a spectator and it’s very tough to shut down, but we’ve got a few ideas about that which we hope to be able to show on Friday.”
Newcastle Falcons team to face Bristol Bears
15 Tom Arscott
14 Adam Radwan
13 George Wacokecoke
12 Matias Orlando
11 Ben Stevenson
10 Toby Flood
9 Sam Stuart
1 Trevor Davison
2 Jamie Blamire
3 Logovi’i Mulipola
4 Greg Peterson
5 Marco Fuser
6 Sean Robinson
7 Mark Wilson (captain)
8 Philip van der Walt
Replacements
16 Charlie Maddison
17 Kyle Cooper
18 Mark Tampin
19 Connor Collett
20 Josh Basham
21 Louis Schreuder
22 Brett Connon
23 Gareth Owen
Comments on RugbyPass
Lions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to commentsWhere has our good friend Pecos gone!? Similar place to the Crusaders D, the abyss.
4 Go to commentsNice piece Nick. I haven’t seen much of the brumbies this year so will keep my powder dry on charlie, but clearly has the speed and footwork to be damaging in space. Similar to Samu, I’d worry about the size of our pack if the likes of Mcreight and Cale were in the b/row together. Maybe Cale could play a similar finisher role like Samu did for Rennie’s wallabies. Has Cale leapfrogged wilson in your eyes? He obviously has the lineout, but harry probably better (although not great) in the physical stuff and also has great hands in the loose. You’d have to say mcreight and valetini are shoe-ins at 7/8, so the question becomes who matches best with them at 6 and on the bench. I don’t know if he has a high enough ceiling, but id love to see wright given a shot based on how much bad luck he has had with injuries. He may also fit that no-nonsense graft/work rate irish approach…? If schmidt wants size and a 4/6 tweener then I’d probably pick Uru. On the bench I’d have no idea, Wilson if you want to give valetini a rest, and maybe hanigan/wright/uru as 6 replacements.
21 Go to commentsWho the heck is Billy Fulton?
13 Go to commentsCale has all the potential no doubt. So has Harry Wilson except for his dumb arse coach over the last few years who told him just to run at brick walls all the time. Valentini would be devastating at 6. As he was until some idiot thought oh yeah, move our best player to another position. Not mentioning any flightless or thank you names of course. I very much dislike claiming one player is the saviour, because injuries are so prevalent in the game these days as the players are bigger and faster, so the discussion should be who are at least the best two players in one position. For me it’s Harry Wilson and Cale at 8 at the moment with Valentini or Hooper from the Brumbies at 6. Great options. Seru Uru should be in the reserves too. A game changer.
21 Go to comments