NEWCASTLE Falcons have been boosted by the return of scrum half Micky Young ahead of tomorrow’s Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final against Cardiff Blues at Kingston Park.

Young returns to the fold having recovered from the back injury which kept him out of last weekend’s trip to Harlequins.

Alex Tait returns after ankle trouble and will slot in at full-back with Charlie Amesbury moving to the wing as Gcobani Bobo switches to outside centre to replace the injured Rob Vickerman.

Filipo Levi will also start in place of the injured Tim Swinson, while the back row sees the return of Brent Wilson at blindside as the Falcons look to build on their 25-13 home win over Gloucester.

Director of Rugby Steve Bates is hoping his side can put on a great show for the fans and admits the club are very much still on the trophy trail.

He said: “It’s a great occasion for us to be involved in, hosting a top-class side like Cardiff Blues in a big European quarter-final.

“The players are all excited by the challenge and hopefully it will capture the imagination of the North East sporting public.

“This is a massive chance for us to continue down the path towards silverware and a place in next season’s Heineken Cup.”

Despite having already lost to the Blues this season in the LV=Cup, Bates claims the result will have no bearing on tomorrow’s match.

He said: “I don’t think either side will have really gleaned too much from that game to be totally honest, because both clubs took the opportunity to mix up their squads.

“But we’re still well aware of what quality Cardiff have from studying tapes of their recent games and when you look down their squad list there is certainly no shortage of international quality with a host of Wales, Lions and All Black caps in there.”

“That in itself is a great motivation for our players, because they will want to test themselves against guys of that calibre and prove that they deserve to be in that sort of company on a more regular basis.

“We will probably start as underdogs but we’re coming out to attack and to hopefully put on a show for the crowd on what is a major high-profile game for the region.”

■ Andy Key insists relegation- threatened Leeds Carnegie will not be distracted by events elsewhere when they continue their battle to remain in the Guinness Premiership today.

Leeds visit Harlequins and rugby director Key said: ‘‘Anyone who says that they do not look at other results is not telling the whole truth. We are aware of who is playing who, but our only focus is on Harlequins on Saturday.”