 Director of rugby: Steve Bates
Captain: Phil Dowson
Ground: Kingston Park (10,200 capacity)
Last season: GP - 11th ECC - semi-finals
England elite squad: 2 (Noon, Wilkinson) The pundits are only predicting bad things for a side that could only finish 11th last season and no longer have the talents of England duo Mathew Tait and Toby Flood. It remains to be seen whether the policy to have fewer players away during Test windows bears fruit, but the Falcons have not made massive waves in the transfer market, with former rugby league wing Danny Williams (left) and Tongan centre Tane Tu'ipulotu the notable arrivals. As ever, the importance of a certain Jonny Wilkinson staying fit is pivotal. "People are free to make those predictions but as a group, we are pretty confident that we are going to be very competitive. The new laws and the England elite player squads are going to influence the season and basing predictions on our form last year does not look at the facts of what we were doing at the end of the season."
Director of rugby Steve Bates  The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites | 
Bookmark with:
What are these?