Advertisement
Newcastle Falcons host Northampton Saints on Friday night in a battle of two sides playing for places rather than post-season opportunities.
Northampton's loss last time out at Sale Sharks all but ruled the defending champions out of play-off contention, while the best Newcastle can hope for is to surpass Exeter Chiefs and avoid finishing bottom for a third straight season.
You could argue Friday's game is more about Northampton players putting themselves in the shop window for Lions selection or for their mouthwatering trip to the Aviva Stadium on May 3 to face Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-finals.
Pollock's looking to be a Lions bolter
Everything Henry Pollock touches is turning to gold at the moment. If the free-scoring flanker continues his red-hot form, it may leave Andy Farrell no choice but to take the 20-year-old young buck Down Under, despite the embarrassment of riches at his disposal in the back row.
Fin Smith needs to maintain his form if he's to oust the likes of Finn Russell, Sam Prendergast and Marcus Smith for a place on the plane, while the returning George Furbank will want to restore his form post-injury and compete with Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn for the Lions 15 jersey.
Tommy Freeman can't stop scoring and is one of the most in-form wings on the planet but their young crop of players like full-back George Hendy, second row Tom Lockett and tyro prop Tom Green will be desperate for stellar displays that could result in selection for the Saints' season-defining encounter in Dublin.
Newcastle boss Diamond in hot water
Newcastle are 10 points adrift of ninth place, and Steve Diamond would love nothing more than to avoid finishing at the foot of the table after promising back in September that they wouldn't.
Diamond will start his six-match ban on Friday for abusing match officials at the end of their loss to Exeter last month. The former Sale and Worcester Warriors boss was upset about Exeter's match-winning try in the last minute being awarded and angrily confronted the officials after the game.
If the Falcons have any chance of ending their six-match losing streak, back row Tom Gordon will likely be at the heart of it, seeing he's made 162 tackles in the engine room this term and won the fifth most turnovers in the league (12).
| # | Team | PL | W | L | D | PD | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bath Rugby | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 200 | 12 | 56 |
| 2 |  Bristol Bears | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 14 | 46 |
| 3 |  Leicester Tigers | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 40 | 11 | 41 |
| 4 |  Gloucester Rugby | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 13 | 41 |
| 5 |  Sale Sharks | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 7 | 39 |
| 6 |  Saracens | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | -17 | 11 | 39 |
| 7 |  Harlequins FC | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 37 |
| 8 |  Northampton Saints | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | -6 | 8 | 28 |
| 9 |  Exeter Chiefs | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | -83 | 8 | 20 |
| 10 |  Newcastle Falcons | 13 | 2 | 11 | 0 | -274 | 2 | 10 |
