Albi v Newcastle: Teams
Group leaders Newcastle have made six changes to their side for their Amlin Challenge Cup trip to Albi on Friday.
Last Updated: 14/01/10 5:23pm
Group leaders Newcastle have made six changes to their side for Friday's Amlin Challenge Cup trip to Albi.
The Falcons are aiming to put one foot in the quarter-finals by building on their position at the top of Pool 5, where they sit three points clear of Montauban going into the penultimate round of group matches.
Matt Thompson makes a first start for the club at tighthead prop having switched over from hooker in a string of Development Team matches this season, as club captain Carl Hayman lies in wait on the bench.
A rib injury to Jon Golding sees Laurence Ovens called up to the loose head side, with Ovens keen to repeat his try-scoring exploits from the home tie against Albi. The only other change to the pack comes in the second row, where Mark Sorenson comes in for James Hudson.
In the backs there are three changes, as a fit-again Micky Young resumes scrum-half duties after missing the Wasps trip with a calf problem.
A new wing partnership sees Yorkshire pair Danny Williams and Tom Biggs starting out wide as Charlie Amesbury misses out with a rib injury, with Gcobani Bobo shifted to the centres as Rob Vickerman continues his recovery on the bench from a foot injury.
"That (the Wasps victory) was a big day for us and, I think, underlines the competitiveness of this team," said coach Steve Bates.
"We were very much looking forward to hosting Gloucester on the back of that momentum, so it was naturally very disappointing that the weather intervened and forced the postponement of our match last Sunday.
"On the flip side of that it has meant that we go over to Albi with fresh legs now, and I suppose you could say every cloud has a silver lining. We've got in a reasonable amount of training, we're in great shape and the lads are absolutely raring to get some rugby."
Meanwhile, Albi head into the fixture just five points shy of Newcastle and knowing that they can still qualify for the knockout stages.
Argentina wing Lucas Borges is included on the right wing while Crisjan van der Westhuyzen has to make do with a place on the bench.
Albi: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Saula Radidi, 12 Baptiste Hecker, 11 Pierre-Gilles Lakafia, 10 Frédéric Manca, 9 Anthony Poujol, 8 Vincent Clement, 7 Laurent Baluc-Rittener, 6 Daniel Farani, 5 François Tisseau, 4 Thomas Vervoort, 3 Nicolas Frize, 2 Cyriac Ponnau, 1 Florian Prime.
Replacements: 16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Stéphane Delpuech, 18 Benjamin Sore, 19 Crisjan van der Westhuyzen, 20 Yogane Correa, 21 John Stewart, 22 Blair Stewart, 23 Michel Denetre.
Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Danny Williams, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Jimmy Gopperth (capt), 9 Micky Young, 8 Filipo Levi, 7 Brent Wilson, 6 Josh Afu, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Matt Thompson, 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Laurence Ovens.
Replacements: 16 Alex Walker, 17 Carl Hayman, 18 Micky Ward, 19 James Hudson, 20 Adam Balding, 21 Chris Pilgrim, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Rob Vickerman.