Wilkinson rested for Falcons

6:03am Thursday 8th May 2008

JONNY Wilkinson has been rested for Newcastle Falcons' rearranged home match against Wasps tonight.

With all tickets sold following Sunday's morale-boosting win against Leicester, the Falcons have no need to risk further damage to their fly half.

Wilkinson is to have a shoulder operation at the end of the season and caretaker boss Steve Bates said: "He did very little training prior to Sunday's match, which was a huge physical contest. There is very little to be gained by putting him through another similar match in the space of four days.

"We'll keep an eye on it with the Worcester game in mind on Saturday, but even then we might just decide to give some of the younger guys a run."

Making his first senior appearance on the bench tonight is No.8 Peter Browne, the Durham University student who has starred for the Falcons academy this season and played a few games for Darlington Mowden Park.

"He is a player who excites me a lot," said Bates. "He is a naturally athletic player, a big strong physical presence and I have a very high regard for him.

"This is a chance for him to find out what Premiership rugby is all about, and I'm very confident that he will rise to the occasion. I think he is the type of player who can excite the fans with the way he plays, and I would also put Micky Young in that category at scrum half."

Young and fly half Rob Miller are on the bench, with Hall Charlton and Steve Jones starting at half back, while Sale-bound Mathew Tait switches to outside centre with Tom May at full back.

After the recent turmoil at the club, Bates described Sunday's win as "a big step forward" and is confident of more success before the end of the season with a more structured style of play.

"For much of Sunday's game we realised that we needed to get ourselves down into the right areas, and only then could we really start to move the ball around.

"Appreciating that reality of rugby is a major change of mindset for a lot of these players.

"The next major goal is to learn to play away from home, and I think a lot of the things we are applying to our game, such as keeping it tight and playing more territory, will have a significant impact next season when we are on the road.

"What we already have is an outstanding team ethic. The players really want to work hard for one another and put their bodies on the line, and if we can add more of a streetwise resilience to that week in, week out, then we can make ourselves extremely tough to beat."

"Given what happened on Sunday afternoon there is now a real buzz among the place, and everyone is keen to get back out there."

Bates knows that the club where he spent 15 years, Wasps, will provide an enormous test as they bid to get into the play-offs.

In the front row Micky Ward and Matt Thompson replace Jon Golding and Andy Long, with fit-again Mark Sorenson returning to the second row while Russell Winter and Brent Wilson join skipper Phil Dowson in a new-look back row.

Newcastle Falcons: Tom May, Ollie Phillips, Mathew Tait, Tim Visser, John Rudd, Steve Jones, Hall Charlton, Micky Ward, Matt Thompson, Carl Hayman, Andy Perry, Mark Sorenson, Phil Dowson (captain), Brent Wilson, Russell Winter

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