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'It's Friday night in Newcastle - there will be some drunk Geordies and some entertaining characters'

Mark Wilson runs during England training (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Adopted Geordie Mark Wilson expects Newcastle to embrace its maiden England international as a valuable chance to grow the game in the North East. Eddie Jones’ World Cup hopefuls play their final warm-up Test against Italy at St James’ Park on Friday night before heading to Japan 48 hours later.

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From a logistics point of view, it will be the easiest of England fixtures for Wilson, who lives 10 minutes from the ground. The Cumbrian moved to Newcastle as a 14-year-old and in 2010 began playing for the Falcons, ensuring a rousing welcome for the rugged flanker.

“Hopefully I will get an alright reception,” said Wilson, who has been loaned to Sale next season after Newcastle were relegated from the Gallagher Premiership. “We had photos the other day. I had to put both strips on so that might not go down so well!

“It’s Friday night in Newcastle. There will be some drunk Geordies and some entertaining characters. It will be a good atmosphere. My favourite games at the Falcons were always Friday nights because there is a bit of a buzz. Everyone’s finished work and had a few drinks.

“It will certainly be very special. All my youth, if you wanted to watch England you had to go down to Twickenham to see them. I’m sure it will be pretty special for young north-east kids who love rugby to be able to go to St James’ Park and watch England play.

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“For families up north, getting to Twickenham is quite a big effort. I never got the chance to go as a kid which is why this Friday night will be so special for youngsters in the north. I’m pretty sure a lot of families will make some pretty good memories.

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“It will do good for rugby in the region. I remember the 2015 World Cup when games were played there. You could feel the excitement around the place, everyone was talking about it. There is a bit of a boost which will hopefully encourage a bit of a chain reaction in terms of boosting rugby in the area.”

Wilson, who lines up in a back row that also includes Billy Vunipola and Tom Curry, will be watched playing for England by his mum for the first time in 15 outings.

“My mum never watches so she will be in the stands, which will be pretty special. She doesn’t like big crowds. With this one being in Newcastle I don’t think she had an excuse,” he said.

“My wife Amy’s family had season tickets at Newcastle. Her Dad actually took a penalty at Alan Shearer’s testimonial and missed. As long as I am more successful than him that will be alright!”

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– Press Association 

WATCH: The RugbyPass stadium guide to Sapporo where England will open their World Cup campaign against Tonga

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AM 26 minutes ago
18 debutants but Australia's core looking ‘more settled than ever’

Not so many when you compare it to the squad of 50 plus players used by SA. Four main problems with the team and Schmidt shows he is a good technician but poor international coach by not selecting the best players and rotating and developing key positions.


First, the scrum is woeful if Bell and Thor don’t play. AAA and Nongoor in particular are poor. Talea may be good but is not good enough. Schmidt should select Sio, Ainsley and Latu as the bench front row. All playing well in Europe. He should also be doing better with Pone and perhaps getting him over to France to work on his scrummaging. Pone is our best running prop but poor coaching has killed him. Needs better coaching OS provided eg Skelton and Meafou. Secondly, 9 and 10 combo. McDermott is a confidence player and is terrible on a bad day. He takes several steps before passing which kills the speed of ball and results in turnovers. Better off with Kerr Barlow who is playing well with La Rochelle and making McDermott work on his skills. Edmed probably does need a run too. Thirdly, centre and fullback. Perese is our best defender at centre and should be in the squad. The outside back defence is poor without Joe and needs to be shored up. Wright is also a confidence player and has poor defence. When he is off like he was last week better to replace him with someone like Reece Hodge who has a great boot and good D. Fourthly, lack of ball runners who break tackles outside of Bobby V and Skelton. Wilson is not up to international standard and dosent break tackles nor does McReight. Replace him with Gleeson and Leota on the bench if fit. Would also be better playing Pone than Nongoor as Pone at least has a good running game. Latu also makes ground. Amatesero is also a better player than Williams. Frost has been the standout fine. Finally, player rotation. Schmidt is grinding key players like Bell and Bobby V into dust. He needs to give them breaks by utilising OS players more and developing youngsters. The loss of Meafou to France and the guy who captained Scotland exemplifies the poor coaching and development in Aus.

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