Team Northumbria look to build on a promising first season of BUCS Super Rugby as they kick off their campaign against Cardiff Met at Kingston Park tomorrow.
Last season the spoils were shared between the two sides with Cardiff Met winning the first fixture 58–16 and TN bouncing back to bag a dramatic 32-31 home win.
TN head of rugby Darren Fearn is pleased with the progress his young side have made during the close-season and can’t wait for the competitive action to resume.
“Our pre-season has been good and the lads have worked hard,” he said. “They’ve been in for about six weeks and there’s been a lot of learning and getting to know each other.
“We’ve lost a few guys but we’ve retained the majority of last year’s squad. The lads we’ve brought in have settled very well and we’ve made good progress on the more finer details.
“We’ve got one lad, Suva Ma’asi, who’s been like a new addition this year because he got injured very early last season.
“We’ve also added two new stand-offs this season in Josh Bragman, who will be starting on Friday, and Jake Rodgers who’s on the bench. We’re excited about both lads,”.
And Fearn was also clear on what the aims for his team are this season.
“We’ve got aspirations as a group that we’ll keep in house but when it comes down to it we want to win games of rugby with our best possible performances,” he added.
“In the short term, our expectations are that we’re aiming to do the best we can as a group.”
Kingston Park plays host to TN and Cardiff Met this afternoon (4:30pm ko).
The fixture is the first of two back-to-back games at the venue with fourth placed Newcastle Falcons facing off against London Irish as they look to carry on their excellent start to the season (7:30pm ko).
Tickets are available from Sport Central with student tickets - covering both matches - costing £8. For further enquires call Sport Central on 0191 227 4700.
.jpg_62276aa9abc9d.png)
