The Premiership Rugby match between the Newcastle Falcons and the Saracens, will be battling in Philadelphia, at Talen Energy Park, on September 16th.
This will be a monumental match between these two teams for several reasons. First, this will be the first time that these two teams will face each other in the United States. The work that Premiership Rugby is doing to try and open their league to the American market, is a positive for the branding of the league. Second, this is extremely early for two top ranked teams in Premiership Rugby to be facing each other. Third, these teams have a very set rivalry against each other.
The Newcastle Falcons have had a relatively easy opponents this first two rounds. They had a blowout battle against last year’s bottom tier team, Worchester Warriors, 35-8. Only to follow that match with a struggle match against Sales Sharks, defeating them, 13-12. Neither the Warriors nor the Sharks are doing particularly well this season. There are some red flags that need to be raised about the Falcons, as they struggled against the Sharks. Particularly because they were trailing late in the match.
The Saracens have played some high scoring matches. The Saracens kicked off the season with a 55-24 win over the Northampton Saints. The second week, they fell to a very tough Bath Rugby team, 31-21. The loss to Bath Rugby probably tells the most tales, as Bath is currently sitting in third place in the rankings. Often times losing to tough team can be more helpful than beating an inferior team.
This is one of those matches that sportsbooks, like Sportsbetting.ag, love to set lines for. The Saracens vs Newcastle Falcons battles have swung in the Saracens favor more than the Falcons. The Saracens have a won 69% of the battles they’ve faced against the Falcons. The Falcons have been historically outscored by the Saracens 1087-770, including losing to the Saracens 35-27 last year. Despite the advantage that the Saracens have, the Newcastle Falcons look like they are prepared to break all expectations. The Newcastle Falcons are currently tied for first place in the Premiership, while the Saracens are sitting in fifth place.
This week we look forward to seeing who makes the roster for this match, as it could set itself up for a championship rematch at the end of this season. Both teams maintain a solid rivalry against each other. As the time gets closer, spectators can’t help but feel the anticipation build in the air, and gravitate towards this game.