NEWCASTLE Falcons will begin the new Guinness Premiership campaign with a home game against Sale Sharks on September 15.

Three of Newcastle's opening four matches will take place at Kingston Park, with Harlequins and Leeds both visiting following an early-season away trip to London Irish.

The exact dates of the fixtures are still to be confirmed, but the Falcons are committed to staging the majority of their home games on a Sunday with a few matches taking place on a Friday night.

This season's fixture list sees no matches taking place on Boxing Day or New Year's Day, but the festive period will see Newcastle entertain Gloucester on the weekend of December 22 before travelling to Saracens on the weekend of December 29.

Martin Johnson believes England coach Brian Ashton faces a real dilemma over fiery lock forward Danny Grewcock.

Ashton today names a provisional 40-man squad for the World Cup in France knowing Grewcock will miss the first two matches of the tournament unless he successfully appeals against his latest ban.

''Not being available for the South Africa game is crucial,'' said Johnson.''It's a tough one when someone's not available for the first two games, especially if another guy got injured in the first game.

''But I'm not saying don't pick him because I've got a lot of sympathy for him.

''We've all had our run-ins with being suspended over the years and I think it's a little bit harsh if a guy is going to get suspended in September for what happened in May.''