FIJIAN flyer Vereniki Goneva is hoping to cement his reputation as the ‘interception king’ when European champions Saracens visit Kingston Park on Sunday.

The Newcastle Falcons winger is in a rich vein of form with six league tries this campaign, and last weekend he topped the Aviva Premiership charts for the most line-breaks, metres and carries.

Showing no signs of slowing down at the age of 32, Goneva has made a speciality of pilfering interception tries in recent months – a trend he is hoping to continue this weekend.

"I just sense the opportunity for interceptions," said Goneva, who spent four seasons with Leicester Tigers prior to moving to the North-East. "It’s not an easy thing to explain but when we are defending for a few phases, I get the feeling they’re going to go for the big pass, and it’s just about that anticipation.

"Before the guy has even started passing the ball I can see what’s going to come, and I just go from there. Luckily in the last few weeks it has paid off, but I guess opposition teams will be looking out for it now. Even if it means they don’t throw the wide pass I suppose it acts as a bit of a deterrent, but I hope Saracens still chuck a couple my way on Sunday."

Saracens might have slipped to third position in the Premiership table, but the reigning champions remain formidable opponents as they look to cement their place in the end-of-season play-offs.

A top-six finish remains a realistic ambition for Falcons, who are currently sitting eighth, although Dean Richards’ side will have to improve on last weekend’s showing, when they were well-beaten at Exeter.

"The team overall are disappointed with what we put out last weekend," said Goneva. "I can’t speak for the rest of the boys but to come away with no points after the start we made – I think we can be better than that.

"Saracens this weekend is a massive challenge for us, because we want to put right what happened last weekend when we struggled in the second half. Exeter are a good side and we always knew it would be a tough game, but we have a chance now to show what we are really about."

Goneva currently tops the Premiership try-scoring charts, although he is quick to pay tribute to his team-mates, who have developed a much more attacking outlook this season, especially when they are playing on Kingston Park’s artificial pitch.

"Personally, it’s nice to be scoring a good number of tries recently, but I’m just finishing off the good work of other people," he said. "The forwards are putting in a lot of hard work and creating opportunities, and hopefully we can keep them coming.

"We’ll see if I can add to that on Sunday, but the main thing is that it’s a massive game for the team and one that we want to win. Our supporters were great during our last home game against Northampton (when Falcons won 46-31), we look forward to playing at home and our crowd give us so much love. Beating Saracens would be a great way to repay them."