Tait names side for LV= Cup Final

Posted on Mar 18, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Newcastle Falcons head coach Alan Tait has named his side for Sunday’s eagerly anticipated LV= Cup Final, against Gloucester at Franklin’s Gardens.

The Falcons have made three changes to the team that snatched a last gasp 21-20 victory over Harlequins in the capital last week.

Luke Fielden returns to the wing, replacing Danny Williams who has failed to recover from a thigh strain. While creative centre Tane Tu’ipulotu gets a start at outside centre with Luke Eves making the switch to the wing.

A strong forward pack will lock horns with the Cherry and Whites with the only change being the introduction of Kieran Brookes for Euan Murray.

“It’s not very hard to get the players up for a game like this, and they are all buzzing for it,” Tait told the gathering media.

“We’ve knocked out the top seeds away from home last weekend, we’re in the final now and we are growing as a group. We have put in a lot of hard work over the whole season, and I just hope that we can get something out of it,” he said.

The northeasterners have the upper hand over Gloucester when it comes to head to head matchups this season. Gloucester were defeated 12-6 at Kingston Park back in November, as Jimmy Gopperth nailed four penalties to secure precious Aviva Premiership.

Tait who will be reunited with former Scotland teammate Bryan Redpath in the opposite dugout, believes his side can bring the trophy back to Tyneside, saying: “I know their coaches Carl Hogg and Bryan Redpath well – both good lads – but Paul Moriarty has got these forwards firing now. If we can make a battle of it, I’d back us in a scrap.

“I looked at the Gloucester players, who weren’t involved last weekend, and they had five guys in the Calcutta Cup match as well as the likes of Lesley Vainikolo, Dave Attwood and James Simpson-Daniel all out injured or suspended.”

And with the huge carrot of a place in next season’s Heineken Cup, the Scotsman acknowledges the importance of Sunday’s game.

He said: “People talk about us qualifying for the Heineken Cup if we win on Sunday, which would be a great achievement for the club, but it also makes you sit down and think that we are seriously short of numbers and quality you need to compete at that level.

“Don’t get me wrong, it would be amazing to be part of that competition, but it would be another head-ache for the owners when I come knocking on their door pestering them for additional players!”

After a slow start to their 2010/11 Aviva Premiership campaign, Newcastle have now elevated themselves closer to safety following back-to-back triumphs over Leeds Carnegie and Harlequins. It is fair to say that momentum is with the Kingston Park outfit, but Tait underlines that there is a “bigger job” to be done in the premiership, adding: “They have got to pick themselves up on the Monday morning again, regardless of the result, because there’s a bigger job to be done in securing our premiership status.”

Newcastle

15 Alex Tait
14 Luke Fielden
13 Tane Tu’ipulotu
12 James Fitzpatrick
11 Luke Eves
10 Jimmy Gopperth
9 Micky Young

1 Jon Golding
2 Matt Thompson
3 Kieran Brookes
4 James Hudson (Captain)
5 Andrew Van der Heijden
6 Tim Swinson
7 Brent Wilson
8 Ally Hogg

Replacements

16 Rob Vickers
17 Grant Shiells
18 James Hall
19 Filipo Levi
20 Mark Wilson
21 Hall Charlton
22 Gcobani Bobo
23 Tom Catterick

Gloucester change two for LV= Cup Final

Posted on Mar 18, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Gloucester Rugby Head Coach Bryan Redpath has made two changes to the starting line up that defeated the Dragons last weekend, one injury enforced and one tactical.

With the Gloucester Rugby medical staff having done a sterling job this week, changes are kept to a minimum with the majority of those who participated in the winning semi final effort retained for Sunday’s final.

Unfortunately missing out due to injury is club stalwart Peter Buxton who fractured his right forearm in the closing stages of the win over the Dragons.

Buxton underwent surgery earlier this week and is replaced in the starting line up by Fijian international Akapusi Qera. Qera’s place amongst the replacements is taken by Matt Cox.

The only other change sees Tim Molenaar come in for Henry Trinder in the centre with Trinder dropping to the bench.

With a trophy and automatic Heineken Cup qualification up for grabs, there’s plenty to play for and both teams come into Sunday’s final on the back of a good run of form.

Gloucester have won ten in a row in all competitions while the Falcons have won three on the bounce.

Come Sunday, however, according to Bryan Redpath, that won’t count for much.

“Form going into a cup final really doesn’t mean a huge amount but we have to take confidence from the past ten weeks.”

“People don’t go into finals with form and reputations. Anyone can win on the day. Look at Birmingham and Arsenal. You can never get arrogant or overly confident, you have to be realistic and honest.”

Gloucester have been given the tag of favourites but the squad have ignored that talk according to Redpath.

“We haven’t even talked about it. It’s another game. We just need to do our jobs, perform our roles. If we focus too much on the opposition then we’ll not play our game. If we do that then the results take care of themselves.”

“It’ll be a tough game. Alan Tait will be getting them fired up after their past three wins. They’ll be happy after those and they’ve shown a lot of character. They’ve nothing to lose.”

Gloucester Rugby:

Olly Morgan; Charlie Sharples, Tim Molenaar, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, Tom Voyce; Nicky Robinson, Jordi Pasqualin; Nick Wood, Olivier Azam, Rupert Harden; Jim Hamilton, Alex Brown; Akapusi Qera, Andy Hazell, Luke Narraway (capt)

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, Yann Thomas, Shaun Knight, Will James, Matt Cox, Tim Taylor, Freddie Burns, Henry Trinder

Mike Tindall injury update

Posted on Mar 16, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

MIKE TINDALL has suffered a ligament strain to his left ankle.

The centre saw a specialist last night and will continue to be treated by the England medical team this week in consultation with their Gloucester counterparts.

Travelling support crucial for Sharples and co

Posted on Mar 15, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Gloucester Rugby winger Charlie Sharples caught the eye with his four try display in the LV= Cup semi final win over the Dragons at Kingsholm on Sunday and told the club website that a huge travelling support will be crucial for the final on Sunday.

The win was Gloucester’s tenth in a row and secured a place in the final of the Anglo Welsh tournament for the third year in succession .

Ticket sales have been going well this week a fact which hasn’t been lost upon the Gloucester squad.

“That’s obviously massive for us as players. Kingsholm and the Shed are a big part of what we are, so to have that sort of travelling support is fantastic.”

“They’ll be like a 16^thman for us and it’d be fantastic to be celebrating with them come the final whistle.”

However, despite the buzz around the city, the fact that it’s the final is having no effect upon preparations according to Sharples.

“It’s very much business as usual. I don’t think we’re going to focus on the fact that it’s the final, everyone’s aware of what it is.”

“We’re not going to change anything in terms of how we prepare for it. We’ll do the same things in training and prepare as we would do every week.”

“There will be an intensity to training but there always is. It’s a final but every game we play is important and we train to win whatever the competition.”

“There’s a lot at stake but we’ll be mentally tuned in as we always are. If nothing else, we know that we lost up at Newcastle earlier in the season so we know what’s ahead of us.”

The game against the Dragons was a physical one with a number of shuddering collisions all over the pitch but that was exactly what Gloucester expected according to the Hong Kong born flier.

“We knew it was going to be like that. It’s the old Anglo Welsh rivalry with them coming over and looking to defeat the English. We knew that they weren’t going to roll over.”

“Fortunately for us, we played some good rugby and they wasted a few opportunities and we managed to ease clear in the second half.”

“But it was a tough game and we were definitely feeling the effects the next day but there’s nothing like a final to get you going again.”

Gloucester name side for LV= Cup semi final clash

Posted on Mar 11, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

International call ups mean that Gloucester Rugby Head Coach Bryan Redpath makes four changes to the side that started against Bath Rugby last Saturday as his side prepare to take on the Dragons on Sunday (kick off 1pm) with a place in the LV= Cup final at stake.

The resumption of the RBS Six Nations sees Rory Lawson, Scott Lawson and Alasdair Strokosch named in the Scotland squad while Mike Tindall and Paul Doran-Jones have been with the England squad all week.

As a result, the changes to the team to face the Dragons largely reflect those absences.

Jordi Pasqualin comes in for Rory Lawson at scrum half in the only change to the backline whereas the pack is reshuffled.

Olivier Azam replaces Scott Lawson at hooker and Rupert Harden starts at tight head in place of Paul Doran-Jones.

Finally, the fit again Alex Brown is back to partner Jim Hamilton in the second row.

Talking to the media this week, Redpath shrugged off the disruptions.

“We’ve had injuries and people coming back and forward but that’s the nature of this tournament and this time of the season. We’ve got to get on with it.”

“The key thing is that we understand that it’s a semi final. We’ve got to ignore the past nine weeks and what’s gone on and now really focus on this.”

“We’ve played the Dragons a few times over the past couple of seasons and won some and lost some. We have to get our heads around that.”

“We underperformed down there on a rainy night in the group stages and can’t afford to do that again. It’s a big Anglo Welsh derby and our mindset is going to be the key thing.”

Gloucester Rugby:

Olly Morgan; Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, Tom Voyce; Nicky Robinson, Jordi Pasqualin; Nick Wood, Olivier Azam, Rupert Harden; Jim Hamilton, Alex Brown; Peter Buxton, Andy Hazell, Luke Narraway (capt)

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, Yann Thomas, Shaun Knight, Will James, Akapusi Qera, Tim Taylor, Freddie Burns, Jonny May