Injury Crisis For Play-Offs

By Ridley Hall
May 17 2002

Is Rob Andrew lulling Glaws into a false sense of security - or will he have to send the Newcastle Fledglings out to do battle? We'll know shortly before kick off when he names a squad that will definitely be without the likes of Taione and May and could be without Walder, Armstrong and Lam.

Andrew Mower is also a big doubt after going off injured at Saints and so is Jon Dunbar.

So that means we only have Devonshire and Arnold as definite starters for the back row!

Rob has put a host of Fledglings on stand-by including Matt Holmes, Andrew Springer, Phil Godman and Tom Kirkman. Only Matt has played before and did a very good impression of a young and mobile Doddie Weir!

Doddie himself could figure from the start in what hopefully will not be his last appearance for Falcons before he joins Borders. Rob may well ask Hugh Vyvyan to celebrate his England call-up by starting at flanker.

In the front row Brotherstone is back after being sidelined last week because he is still officially a Saints player and only on-loan to Falcons. Micky Ward should be fit and Marius Hurter is in excellent form. We are struggling for cover with Ian Peel still out so George Graham should get a second half run-out as his swansong.

In the backs the big question is who will play centre in place of Tom May, who has been called up for the England 7's squad next weekend and will Dave Walder manage to get his hamstring loosened in time to pass a fitness test?

Inga has now joined Samoa so Liam Botham is the natural understudy for both centre and full back. Gareth MacLure looks set for a start on one wing with Stevo on the other and everything else depending on Walder.

Falcons are paying the price for playing three games in a week and Kingsholm is not the place you want to go with a patched up squad. Given recent bad feeling it is also not the place you want to blood our Fledglings ... but it looks as though we have little choice.

By contrast Glas have no problems. Wing Daren O'Leary is expected to come in for Diego Albanese while the rest of the team remains the same as the one which trounced Leeds last week.

Glaws: 15. Paul , 14. O'Leary, 13. Fanolua , 12. Todd , 11. Simpson-Daniel , 10. Mercier , 9. Gomarsall , 1. Woodman , 2. Fortey , 3. Pucciariello , 4. Pearce , 5. Fidler , 6. Forrester , 7. Boer , 8. Paramore

Rep: 16. Yachvili , 17. Caillet, 18. Collazo , 20. Azam , 21. Vickery , 22. Sewabu