Your Sharks face a familiar foe on Sunday as Newcastle Falcons come to town for the final pool stage game of this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup. First place and a home quarter-final might be out of reach for Gareth Harris’s team, but a place in the last eight is up for grabs if we can win against a strong Falcons side, led by skipper Callum Chick.
Here’s our three to watch from this weekend’s visitors….
Elliott Obatoyinbo
Back-three player Elliott Obatoyinbo joined Newcastle Falcons in September 2022, initially on a two-month deal and scored two tries in his four games during that stint, before signing on permanent terms.
A former pupil at Stonyhurst and Harrow School, Elliott is a former England age-group international who spent four seasons with Saracens, including dual-registration spells at Old Albanians, Ampthill and London Scottish.
Choosing to leave Saracens in the summer of 2022 in pursuit of more regular game time, the Falcons have been the beneficiaries of Obatoyinbo’s decision, with his evasive running outfoxing some of the best defences in the country.
Elliott made 18 appearances during his debut season, scoring a sensational solo try on his home debut against Sale Sharks and earning man-of-the match during the Falcons’ televised home win over Gloucester.
The 2023-24 campaign brought a further 16 appearances, with his steadiness under the high ball and his kicking game making him a solid presence at the back.
Max Clark
Centre Max Clark joined Newcastle Falcons in December 2024 on an initial three-month deal.
Born in Bridgend, Max played for England Under-20s and represented them in the Junior World Championship final.
After making his professional breakthrough with Bath, he appeared 93 times for the West Country outfit, playing inside and outside centre before moving to Wales with the Dragons and then Cardiff.
Having spent the 2024 pre-season with Saracens, he represented the London club in the Premiership Rugby Cup and appeared for their dual-reg partner Ampthill before securing his move to Newcastle just before Christmas last year.
Jamie Blamire
Cumbrian hooker Jamie Blamire signed his first senior academy deal with the Falcons in the summer of 2016 and has risen through the ranks to the full England national side.
The Cumbrian hooker is a graduate of the club’s ACE scheme at Gosforth Academy, with the Workington native playing club rugby for Tynedale along with his Falcons commitments during his rise to the first-team squad.
Capped by England Under-18s in 2016 during their tour to South Africa, he helped England Under-20s to a Grand Slam during 2017 and was part of the under-20s squad which reached the final of the Junior World Championship in Georgia that summer.
Making his first team debut from the bench during the 2017-18 European Challenge Cup win in Bordeaux, Blamire appeared a further two times from the bench that year before helping the Falcons to the final of the 2018 World Club 10s in Mauritius.
Blamire helped the Falcons to promotion in 2019-20 and played 18 games during the 2020-21 season, before scoring on his full England debut against the USA in July 2021 just three minutes after coming on as a replacement. He followed that up with a hat-trick in his second cap against Canada the week after.
The 2022-23 campaign saw Blamire becoming a regular Premiership starter, scoring eight tries in his 24 games across all competitions and agreeing a new two-year contract extension.
In 2023-24 he started for England away to Wales, scored eight tries in his 18 games for the Falcons and passed the 100 appearance mark.
And a couple of familiar faces on the bench…
Kieran Wilkinson
Sharks Academy graduate Kieran Wilkinson joined Newcastle last summer from Leicester Tigers, but he’s best known for his time at the Salford Stadium.
The Kirkham Grammar School alumni was an England international at Under-20s, 18s and 16s levels, after coming through Sharks’ academy set-up.
He made his first team debut for Sharks against Perpignan in the European Challenge Cup in 2018, putting in a composed performance to guide his side to a 41-24 victory.
Kieran left the club after making 29 appearances scoring a total of 235 points for the Sharks.
Cam Neild
Back-rower Cam came through the Sharks Academy and played more than 130 games for his hometown club over two spells.
His debut for the club came in a Premiership game against Bath in September 2014 but following the 2021/22 season, he left to join Worcester Warriors.
After short-term spells at Glasgow and Edinburgh, the fans’ favourite re-joined Sharks last season on a short-term deal, before making the switch to the North East ahead of the current campaign.
