Tait returns as Clegg gets ready to make his mark

11:43am Saturday 6th September 2008

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WHILE Mathew Tait returns to Kingston Park for a headto- head with his brother Alex tomorrow, a more recent Barnard Castle School star makes his Guinness Premiership debut for Newcastle Falcons.

Last year’s England Under- 18s fly half Rory Clegg will play against Sale Sharks after taking man-of-the-match honours in the 37-10 pre-season victory over French club Racing Metro.

With Jonny Wilkinson being given more time to recover from summer shoulder surgery, Director of Rugby Steve Bates said: “Rory is an extremely talented player with a fantastic temperament.

“He has dealt very well with playing two full games for the first team in preseason and we look forward to seeing him transfer that on to the Guinness Premiership stage.

“Jonny took a very active part in training this week and was close to making the game, but having spoken to the medical team we just felt this weekend was a little too soon for him.”

Alex Tait is at full back, the position Mathew is expected to occupy for Sale and England, while the Falcons include two new signings in flanker Adam Balding and centre Spencer Davey. The other centre they have signed, Wellington’s Tane Tu’ipulotu, arrives in November.

Bates stoked up the clash of Taits by saying: “Alex is an outstanding talent who is arguably more suited to the full back position than his brother, and he is someone I’m very much looking forward to seeing.”

Tait senior, Toby Flood and scrum half Lee Dickson left last season following the sacking of coaches John Fletcher and Peter Walton, prompting some pundits to tip the Falcons for relegation.

But Bates said: “There is no reason why we shouldn’t be hugely competitive against every team in this league, and we go in to every match expecting to win.

“Our squad is as strong, if not stronger, than last season, because we have more specialists playing in positions which are suited to them. I’m excited about Adam Balding coming into the pack to give us that little bit more presence, and I think we are a much stronger outfit now in the sense that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

“We’re looking forward to it after a very good pre-season, and the boys are in fantastic shape. Our training camp in France was very profitable from a team-building and spirit point of view.

“We have learnt a lot about the players, Alan Tait and Stuart Grimes have had a significant input since joining the coaching team and we’re pleased with the progress we are making.

“We have made some pretty fundamental tactical changes, which will mean our capacity to score tries will be significantly increased.”

Injuries rule out prop Jon Golding (knee), back row men Ed Williamson (elbow) and Ross Beattie (ankle), and ex- Rugby League winger Danny Williams (ankle).

James Grindal starts at scrum half, with Hall Charlton on the bench, and the powerful John Rudd is preferred to Tim Visser on the wing.

With the experimental law variations being a hot topic, Bates said: “We haven’t really seen enough rugby in European winter conditions to evaluate what difference they will make.

“It’s fine watching matches in sunny conditions in the southern hemisphere, but on a wet and windy Friday at Kingston Park it could well be a different story when it turns into a kicking fest.

“I think most people are agreed the five-metre offside line at the scrum will be excellent for the game, and we will see a lot of play developing from the scrummage. The change to the driving maul law is a good one, because you couldn’t really stop it, but now it means you have to be much more technically adept to get a good rolling maul going.”

NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Alex Tait, Tom May, Jamie Noon, Spencer Davey, John Rudd, Rory Clegg, James Grindal, Joe McDonnell, Andy Long, Carl Hayman, Andy Buist, Mark Sorenson, Adam Balding, Brent Wilson, Phil Dowson (captain). Replacements: Matt Thompson, Micky Ward, Geoff Parling, Tim Swinson, Hall Charlton, Steve Jones, Tim Visser.