I've been confident all pre-season that we can compete with anybody, and I still firmly believe it. Northampton lost a lot of games at home last season, so there will be a bit of tension there for the fans and the players. If we can achieve the level of performance we did at Sale (Newcastle lost 26-25), we believe we can cause them problems.
Matt is a good young local forward who has come through the club's academy, and is continuing to develop further as a player.
I hope he will have a full game with us against Bath on March 27. It is touch and go.
Bristol have a big set of forwards, and I thought they deserved their win against Bath, so we will pay them every respect in our preparation.
I can categorically say I will not be putting my hat in the ring. It's not something I have ever coveted and it's not a position I am interested in taking up at this point in time. I am loyal to Newcastle and they have been fabulous to me. I feel that is where my responsibility lies.
There was no pressure from England but you have to weigh up a player's mental and physical state at this time of year.
When the medics come to me and say he is right, we will then consider him for selection, but not before. We aren't putting a time limit on it - it will happen when it happens.
It took nine months for Mathew to get over the experience. Next time they have to be certain that they want him and then stick with him.
To be without Phil for such a length of time is a major setback, but he is a strong character and I am sure he will come back from this.
I've been waiting to try and get that combination all season and today was the first time I had all four of them available. It's been a bit frustrating.
He was pretty close for the Leeds game. We will see how we go tomorrow and Friday. We will not force him, as that would be stupid, but equally, if he is right for Sunday he will take some part.
Our actual level of performance has been as good as I can recall in the last five or six years. We've just not had enough breaks and results have slipped away from us. This game will be a good yardstick for us. Not one single person in the land expects us to win.
We are looking at his training schedule, as we do with all the players. He has been extremely unlucky with the trauma injuries he has suffered in the last few years, but we are in an impact sport and there is no way of preventing these things.
Joe has worked very hard in coming back from injury over the last year and continues to give us options in a number of positions.
Under tournament regulations we have to name our team by noon yesterday and while we are happy to do that, the number of fitness tests we have over the course of the weekend means this team may well change by the time kick-off comes.
Owen had high expectations but the relentless nature of the league and our style of play have made it a testing season.
He won't be fit for Dublin, there's no doubt about that, but he might be fit for Scotland and Italy.
We are all frustrated with some aspects of our forward play but we've just got to be patient and keep working at it because we have personnel of a high enough quality to turn it around. The supporters are frustrated, we are ourselves and we know we owe them because they follow us all round the country. The rugby they've seen at Kingston Park this season, apart from half an hour against Bath, has been extremely poor and hopefully, with a clean slate and a new competition on Sunday, we can go some way to repaying them.
The supporters are frustrated, we are ourselves, and we know we owe them because they follow us all round the country. The rugby they've seen at Kingston Park this season, apart from half-an-hour against Bath, has been extremely poor, and hopefully, with a clean slate and a new competition on Sunday we can go some way to repaying them.
We're delighted he has committed himself to the club for a further two years.
The players responded magnificently. Two days after Christmas, they have given everything for the club - you cannot ask for any more than that.
On the face of it, we are both capable of playing open, entertaining rugby to a high standard, but it may be that the team who adapts to something different, maybe some tight forward play, is the one who succeeds.
Johnny has had the most complete week of training with the team since the injury happened. He was very close to being on the bench against Bristol last weekend, but the medical team bought him an extra week just to be absolutely certain.
He needs a fantastic pre-season and a great two months leading into the Autumn internationals. If you have seen what I have seen in the last three weeks, you will know this guy is a class act.
I think it pretty much puts paid to the autumn internationals, so it will most likely be over two years that he hasn't played for England.
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