Knights ready for top Premiership challenge

The Knights will travel north this evening and train at Kingston Park tomorrow afternoon.

New player-coach Justin Bishop, who has had charge of pre-season training along with fitness and conditioning coach Geoff Evans in the absence of a director of rugby, will take his full squad. He will be without injured scrum halves Ben Jones (ankle) and Dan Storey (hernia),as well as centre John Cannon, who suffered concussion in training, and Scot Young who has an ankle strain.

New short-term signing Antione Nicoud will share the scrum-half duties with veteran Dave Scully, and No 8 Glen Wilson will have his first outing as new club captain.

Although they are playing three games over the weekend, the Falcons are taking the match seriously and have announced it as their main event.

They will, of course, be without England World Cup selections Jonny Wilkinson, Mathew Tait and Jamie Noon, but otherwise will put out a formidable line-up that includes many well-known names such as Matt Burke and Tom May in their backs and a pack full of Premiership experience.

The Knights plan to give game time to all fit players in a match that will consist of four 20 minute quarters.

The Knights have a supporters' bus travelling up to the game leaving at 11am from Castle Park.