Wilkinson wings back for Falcons

ON a day in which he signed a new three-year contract with the Newcastle Falcons, it was announced that Lions hopeful Jonny Wilkinson will start his first game for seven weeks when Newcastle play Premiership opponents London Irish tomorrow.

“He is fit and raring to go, and I know he can’t wait to play in front of the Newcastle fans for the first time in a while,” said Falcons rugby director Rob Andrew.

“There are no question marks over his fitness at all, and we look forward to him being part of a good team performance, hopefully followed by a wildcard semi-final and final.”

It is another potential step for the England fly-half towards making the Lions’ tour.

He made a successful return off the bench during the Falcons’ narrow defeat at Northampton earlier this month, having been sidelined since suffering a knee injury against Harlequins five weeks earlier.

It will be only Wilkinson’s second Kingston Park appearance this year, as he looks to put a catalogue of post-World Cup injury setbacks behind him.

Elsewhere, England prop Matt Stevens faces a race against time to be fit before the Lions’ departure date of May 25.

The Bath forward, one of six props in Clive Woodward’s 44-man Lions squad, will not play for his club again this season.

Stevens suffered a knee injury during Bath’s Zurich Premiership victory over London Irish last weekend, which has now been diagnosed as a grade one posterior cruciate-ligament strain.

Bath believe Stevens could be close to full fitness when the Lions tackle Argentina in a pre-tour game at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on May 23.

It’s everything to play for in the Zurich Premiership this weekend at the top and bottom.

With all six games kicking off at 3pm tomorrow it’s sure to be an exciting final round of games in the Zurich Premiership with any one of five teams still facing the prospect of relegation.

At the other end of the table the play off places have also still to be decided.

Harlequins are favourites to make the drop after their defeat at Leeds last Tuesday - and they will need to take at least a bonus point and possibly the win against Sale at the Stoop if they are to stay up.

The two teams above them - Worcester and Northampton - meet at Sixways with the losers likely to make the drop should Quins win. However Leeds and London Irish are far from safe. If Harlequins and The Warriors win and the Saints take a bonus point then attention could turn to Leeds’ meeting with Bath and London Irish’s trip to Newcastle.

Leicester and Wasps will battle for top spot and an automatic place in the Premiership final while Saracens can make the semi-final if they beat Gloucester with a bonus point and Bath and Sale both lose.