IT will be a case of ‘From Russia with shove’ when Newcastle Falcons make history at Kingston Park this weekend.

Falcons will become the first English club to face Russian opposition in a competitive fixture when they entertain Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The Russian side braved temperatures of minus 21 in the Siberian city of Krasnyarsk as they opened their European campaign with a 31-14 defeat to Irish team Connacht last weekend, so while wintry conditions are forecast in the North-East this weekend, Falcons’ opponents should hardly feel out of place.

Nevertheless, it would be a major surprise if Newcastle were not to record their first win of the season on Sunday, even though their limited knowledge of their opponents means they will be taking something of a step into the unknown.

“I saw a few photos on Twitter of the Connacht players on the bench with their blankets on,” said full-back Craig Willis. “It certainly didn’t look the warmest!

“It’s quite a tough one from an analysis point of view because we haven’t come up against them before and there is only limited footage to go on.

“We don’t know a great deal about them, so we are concentrating on ourselves mostly, improving those little work-ons that came out of the Brive match.”

Falcons claimed a losing bonus point as they slipped to a 13-9 defeat in France last weekend, and with the three leading sides in the group expected to do the double over Enisei, that point could prove crucial in the final reckoning.

Having lost their opening four Aviva Premiership matches, there were at least some welcome signs of progress last weekend, and while Sunday's game might come to resemble little more than a glorified training session, a resounding victory could help generate some much-needed momentum ahead of next weekend’s return to domestic duty against Sale Sharks.

“A win would help get our season going,” said Willis. “It’s a big opportunity for us. Getting a first positive result would take that tag off our backs and give us a chance to start fresh and go back into the Premiership with a little more excitement, and in better stead.

“There were improvements at Worcester, and we put out a decent show in Brive. Granted, we didn’t win, but we will be in a better place if we can post a result against Enisei.”

Falcons have reduced the prices for Sunday’s game, which has a 3pm kick-off, with adult tickets at £10 and juniors at £5.