Falcons face fitness worries
NEWCASTLE Falcons boss Steve Bates will wait until the last possible moment before naming his side for Sunday's Guinness Premiership opener at newly-promoted Leeds Carnegie.
The director of rugby is awaiting injury updates on a host of players, and will wait before announcing his line-up.Kiwi duo Carl Hayman and Jimmy Gopperth were among the stars to miss last Friday's 17-5 pre-season victory over Edinburgh, while centre Tane Tu'ipulotu lasted just 10 minutes before being replaced.
"We're in good shape, the guys are looking forward to it and we've prepared well for Leeds," said Bates, before addressing his ongoing injury concerns.
"We have one or two guys who won't make it, but we're not a million miles away from being at full-strength.
"Carl Hayman and Jimmy Gopperth both missed Friday's match against Edinburgh, but we hope to have them back on board for Sunday all being well, although there are one or two late calls to be made on other players.
"It doesn't look like Tane Tu'ipulotu is going to recover from his arm/neck problem in time, so he is the major doubt, and there are one or two niggles elsewhere in the squad which we will continue to monitor.
"One week just wasn't long enough to turn Tane's injury round, but we're hopeful he won't be out for too long.
"Naturally it's a blow not to have someone of Tane's experience available, but, to be fair, the manner in which Rob Vickerman is progressing means that selection in that department was far from cut and dried in any case.
"Rob impressed against Edinburgh in the 70 minutes he had, scoring an excellent try, and obviously with Leeds being his former club this is a game he will be especially fired up for.
"I'm expecting Leeds to be extremely competitive, they have good players and the majority have had a long time playing together as a team. Gaining promotion will have given them a bit of confidence.
"They have added some forceful players to their squad, and we're expecting a very fierce contest."
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Weather for South Shields
Friday 10 February 2012
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