Newcastle Falcons are preparing for their final push for the playoffs in the Aviva Premiership with a match at St James’ Park.
The Falcons sit fourth in the table with five games remaining, three points clear of the fifth placed Leicester Tigers.
Needing a top four finish to qualify for the playoffs, just that is at the forefront of the minds for those in the Falcons’ camp.
Fly-half Toby Flood believes the match against Northampton on Saturday at the home of Newcastle United Football Club will be just the boost they need to inspire them towards the finishing line.
Flood said:
It’s going to feel like a cup final,
It’ll be the first time some of the lads have played in a stadium like this, with the bigger supporters amount, and it’s an exciting prospect.
Aiming for their twelfth win of the season, the Falcons will be doing so in front of a record gate of 25,000+ spectators.
With a high finish promised in the Premiership, and qualification to the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup, it seems the Falcons are back where they want to be, after gaining promotion out of the Championship in the 2012-13 season.
Flood reiterated the significance of playing in the North East’s premier venue:
It’s whole day out, it’s part of the joy of bringing it here, get 20,000-plus people and the positive impact is the city benefits, we help the city out and ourselves. We’re desperate to play here and it’s a boyhood dream for a lot of us.
It’s iconic. For us to have the opportunity to play here is hugely exciting.
