Fletcher relishing player boost

Newcastle boss John Fletcher is looking forward to linking his top men against Bristol.

Newcastle boss John Fletcher is looking forward to a first in Friday's Guinness Premiership match against Bristol: the chance to play Jonny Wilkinson alongside Mathew Tait and Toby Flood.

Unusually for a Premiership side during the autumn internationals, the Falcons' numbers have been boosted after the young centre pairing of Tait and Flood were released from England's squad assembled for Sunday's Test against New Zealand.

And for Newcastle's recently appointed director of rugby, that filip gives him his first opportunity to link Flood and Tait with the returning Wilkinson.

The talismanic fly-half makes his ninth injury return of recent seasons at Kingston Park after suffering a knee ligament injury against Worcester two months ago - with the Falcons not having won a league match since.

"I think that it's the first time that we've started with the Wilkinson, Flood and Tait combination since I took over," said Fletcher, who took over from Rob Andrew in the summer.

"We had basically written off Mathew for this game because we believed he would be involved against the All Blacks, so that was an unexpected bonus getting him back.

"He has only played one-and-a-half games this season and has been sent back to Newcastle to get a couple of matches under his belt.

"There was a chance Toby was going to make the England bench but, with the number of young guys in the side, they have opted for the experience of Andy Goode instead for the replacements.

"I firmly believe Toby will grace the international stage in the near future but, in the meantime, we're just glad to have him back for the Falcons."