Byline: By NICK PUREWAL
NEW Falcons lineout king Stuart Grimes reckons his pack will have
no trouble winning quality starter ball against Sale on Sunday.
The Sharks head to Kingston Park (kick-off 3pm) for the Guinness
Premiership season opener, with Newcastle desperate to start the new
term with a win.
With Sale, Northampton and Bristol all visiting the North East in
the season's first month, lineout coach Grimes admits the start is
pretty crucial to his side's chances.
After the summer arrival of new defence coach Alan Tait to add to
Grimes and the more influential scrummaging role given to Ian Peel, the
Falcons' play book and overall style has been subject to something
of an overhaul.
Grimes said the changes should stand the squad in good stead.
He said: "We have changed a lot from last season in terms of
our game plan, and with having myself and Alan Tait on the coaching
team, we have a lot of new ideas which we are implementing to our
respective areas of the side - myself with the line out and Taity with
the backs and defence.
"So far the response has been very positive from the players
to the changes we have made, but ultimately until you get in to the
competitive games then it is all talk at this stage of the year.
"Real games under real pressure is what it is all about, and
only at that stage of having played a few months will we know truly
where we are.
"I think there is a kind of tradition among clubs of trying to
talk themselves up in the weeks before the new season, but we are ust
working hard here and quietly getting on with the job."
Grimes was pleasantly surprised by what he saw when he put the pack
through their lineout paces, and has since been pushing them hard to
perfect what he sees as an already potent ball-winning weapon.
Despite the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) taking the sting out
of certain areas of the game, Grimes said starter ball will still be
contested as strongly as ever.
The maul is expected to be one area where sides will struggle to
dominate, as under new rules the defending team can now collapse such a
drive, and Grimes said the Falcons will look to take full advantage of
that new law.
He added: "I am lucky in the sense I have inherited what is
already a very good unit, with a lot of talented players.
"What we are doing is just focusing on the real basics, doing
them extremely well and maximising the benefit of the new laws.
"The experimental law variations will de-power a lot of the
traditional mauling sides, of which there are quite a few in the
Guinness Premiership, and then there are the EPS periods in which a
number of teams will be pretty heavily hit by international call-ups.
"I don't think some people have truly considered the
implications of both of these things.
"We believe they are just another small factor in our favour
as we look to build what we believe is a much more balanced team and way
of playing."
CAPTION(S):
CONFIDENT: Stuart Grimes says the Falcons can benefit from the new
rules
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