Newcastle and Exeter to lock horns at Kingston Park

Smarting from their Round 7 loss to Exiles, Newcastle Falcons will be looking to redeem themselves in Round 8, though the task at hand is a significant one as they clash with reigning champions Exeter Chiefs.

Exeter recovered from their Round 6 defeat against Bristol by posting a victory last weekend against Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park. They will take no chances against a plucky Flacons outfit who have turned many heads since their explosive start to this campaign after their promotion from the GK IPA Championship.

This will be an interesting game to watch as it comprises two of the top four sides (Exeter currently holding second position while the Falcons claim fourth, as things stand).

Falcons back-row forward Sean Robinson said his side are keen to move on from last weekend’s loss.

“When we take stock on how things have gone this season we can’t be too disappointed, because we’re fourth in the league,” Robinson said.

“If you’d asked most people outside of this club where we’d be, I think fourth would be above their expectations. It’s been a hugely positively start overall, and while we’re not getting carried away we also can’t let one defeat detract from the general picture of how things are going.

“We were disappointed with how we played last weekend – not just missing out on the losing bonus point at the end, but with our play in general.

“We made too many mistakes, and in Premiership rugby you can’t do that without getting punished.

“We conceded four first-phase tries which clearly isn’t good enough, but the good thing is that they’re relatively easy fixes. We’re focusing on ourselves this week, and raising the level of our basics back to where it needs to be.”

Exeter can, no doubt, expect fresh fighting spirit from the Falcons this weekend.