IT has been somewhat overlooked amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Heineken Cup, but European rugby’s premier club tournament is not the only competition facing the axe.

The Amlin Challenge Cup is also under threat as the English and French clubs look to break away from the clutches of European Rugby Cup, the organisation that currently runs both tournaments, meaning this year’s renewal threatens to be more poignant than most.

Whether anyone cares, though, is another matter. Shoehorned into the calendar in order to provide a European platform for the sides in the lower reaches of the major leagues, the Challenge Cup has always struggled to emerge from the shadow cast by the Heineken Cup.

Get to the semi-final or final stage, and it suddenly starts to matter. Head to Romania for an autumn group game against Bucharest Wolves, and the appeal of the tournament rapidly starts to wear thin.

Newcastle Falcons find themselves in exactly that position, and while director of rugby Dean Richards has made all the right noises about embracing continental competition again after a one-year absence, you suspect he would much rather have had a home Aviva Premiership fixture to get his teeth into in order to maintain the momentum generated by last weekend’s spirited win at Worcester.

This weekend’s trip to the Romanian capital cannot be avoided, however, and with Bucharest expected to provide limited opposition at best, Falcons will be using the experience as much as an opportunity to cement team spirit as a chance to further their rugby development.

“It will be an interesting place in which to play our rugby,” said Richards. “There is no point going over there thinking it’s going to be an easy game because they have some talented players.

“The fact that it will be a regional side that we will be facing makes them a little stronger, and it will certainly be a competitive game for us.”

Be that as it may, Richards has still opted to make ten changes for this afternoon’s game, with academy products Sean Brown, who has previously represented Ryton and Darlington Mowden Park, and Harrison Collins, who is a graduate of Durham University, making their senior bows.

Ryan Shortland makes his first start of the season, with Chris Pilgrim and Joel Hodgson forming a new half-back combination and skipper Alex Crockett coming in at inside centre alongside Adam Powell.

Pilgrim missed most of last season after damaging his knee ligaments, and has found his game time limited this term following the arrival of Scotsman Mike Blair, who has been tussling with Welshman Warren Fury for the scrum-half role.

“It’s a big opportunity for guys like myself, who have not had as much involvement as I would have liked,” said Pilgrim. “Some people might see it as a break from the Premiership, but I am taking it as a chance to put a really big performance in.

“In a way, it is a bit of a trip into the unknown, because with Bucharest being a side made up from different clubs, it is not like there is a lot of information available to us about them. But to a large extent, we will be concentrating on ourselves and trying to impart our own philosophy on the game, trying to take it to them.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Catterick, Shortland, Powell, Crockett, Brown, Hodgson, Pilgrim; Vickers, McGuigan, Tomaszczyk, McKenzie, Tomes, York, M Wilson, Collins.

Replacements: Brookes, Strain, S Wilson, Barrow, Fitzpatrick, Fury, Clegg, Cato.