However instead of the Treviso win being the start of an upturn in the Falcons fortunes, Newcastle have not won a match since that day. Falcons lost back to back matches against London Irish a narrow 1 point defeat in the Powergen followed by a 20 - 0 whitewash in the ZP match the following week. The Newcastle started 2003 at Heywood Road, happily swimming with the Sharks for 20 minutes before Sale romped home 38 – 3.
Saracens on the other hand have had an upturn in form in recent weeks. In the early part of the season they seemed to have forgotten that a rugby match is 80 not 60 minutes long! Having won 3 of their last 4 matches Saracens must be feeling reasonably confident of hanging on to their 21 point lead.
But... This is Newcastle we're talking about! Anything could happen! Let's be honest Falcons are possibly the most erratic team in the Premiership at the moment – we never know what sort of performance we're likely to see.
The forwards, who have in the past come in for much criticism, are playing well and appear to be thriving under Andrew Blades guidance. The match radio commentator on Monday night described them as being "absolutely dominant" in the first half against Saracens.
The biggest problem in recent matches has been with the backs, who have not played as well as we know they can do. At the Sharks match despite much pressure and commitment the Falcons just could not find that extra 'oomph' (technical rugby term!!) needed to get them across the try line. A big factor in this, of course, has been the absence through injury of Jonny Wilkinson and maybe more importantly the even longer absence of Dave Walder, which have unbalanced the backs. I admit I never appreciated just how much Dave Walder adds to the side until he was sidelined this season.
While the first leg of this tie saw the welcome return of Jonny Wilkinson and a strong first half performance from Newcastle, the second half of the match at Vicarage Road belonged to Buck Shelford's Saracens, who scored 25 unanswered points.
Jonny's return seemed to give the backs a lift last weekend and combined with our "absolutely dominant" forwards led to a strong first half Falcons' performance.
"We came out from the start with all guns blazing. With some crisp passing and hard rucking and mauling we took the game to them. When Saracens did get the ball we were in their faces tackling hard and disrupting their possession… It wasn't any surprise when we scored the first try."
DJMC (on the Message Board)
Hopefully this weekend will see Newcastle play a full 80 minutes the way they played the first 40 at Vicarage Road if they do then a semi final place is a distinct possibility. As even the Saracens fans acknowledge:
"It is simple: play like they did for the first 50 minutes and a Wilkinson-Inspired Falcons may well overturn that deficit. Play as they did for the last quarter and it is with guarded optimism that I'd predict a semi-final berth for Saracens..."
(Rupert Thacker – Saracens Match Report)
So my prediction? A Falcons' win, hopefully something similar to the win over Treviso, as it's about time that everything clicked back into place!
Christmas Came Early - Falcons v Treviso (home leg)
Torment in Treviso - Falcons v Treviso (away leg)
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