2020-21 Premiership Rugby – London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons taking place? Sunday 31st January, 2021 – 14:30 (UK)
Where is London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons taking place? Brentford Community Stadium, Brentford
Where can I get tickets for London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons? Check official club websites for information about purchasing tickets
What television channel is London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons on? BT Sport have the rights to televise Gallagher Premiership matches so it is worth checking their schedule
Where can I stream London Irish vs Newcastle Falcons? If televised on BT Sport, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via the BT Sport website & app
THE TEAM NEWS
London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Seàn O’Brien, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Ben Donnell, 21 Blair Cowan, 22 Ben Meehan, 23 Terrence Hepetema
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Tom Penny, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Toby Flood (cc), 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Gary Graham, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Sean Robinson (cc), 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Trevor Davison
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Will Montgomery, 20 John Hardie, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Brett Connon, 23 George Wacokecoke
THE PREDICTION
London Irish drew 27-27 with Harlequins in an excellent end-to-end game of rugby last time out to go above Worcester Warriors in 11th place. Though it is early in the season, the Exiles will be fairly pleased with their efforts so far as they hold one of six positive points differences in the table, with the top 5 making up the rest of that number. Although a covid default victory is their only win in the Premiership so far they are top of the pool in the Challenge Cup and their return to London has been an enjoyable one so far. However, a visit from high-flying Newcastle Falcons is a troubling one especially as the Falcons bounced back well from their first premiership defeat of the season to Bristol earlier this month by comfortably beating Gloucester. Newcastle have lost just one game in the league so far and have already shocked the likes of Bath, Sale and Wasps by merit and they can come out of top in this match, though it looks like a tight one after Irish’s well-earned draw last time out. The Falcons can cover -2 in a close victory.
