NEWCASTLE DRAW TOULON – AND JONNY
15th June 2011

Jonny Wilkinson will be heading home next season – and Newcastle Falcons described their pairing with French big spenders Toulon in Pool 2 of the 2011 / 2012 Amlin Challenge Cup as “fantastic and really exciting.” 
Alan Tait, the Falcons’ head coach, declared: “Toulon are one of the real big spenders of European rugby and it will be great to have Jonny and Carl (Hayman) back in Newcastle.

“It is fantastic for our players to lock horns with some of the biggest names in the sport while it should be a big attraction and spectacle for our supporters.

“Lyon are also signing a lot of quality players, and we know how tough it is going to France in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but the tournament provides a valuable learning curve and the experiences of European rugby are a big part of player development.”

Wilkinson, who scored 2,005 points in 180 appearances for the Falcons in a 12-year stint in the north-east of England, helped Toulon reach the quarter-finals in their first foray into the Heineken Cup last season having steered them into the Amlin Challenge Cup final in 2010.

Following the draw made in Dublin today, the Italian champions, Petrarca Padova, and French Top 14 and tournament newcomers, Lyon Rugby, will make up the rest of Pool 2.

And in another twist of the draw, James Hook is set for a quick-fire return to Wales while providing Perpignan with some inside knowledge when they clash with Newport Gwent Dragons in Pool 4.

The 2011 Heineken Cup semi-finalists have signed Wales star Hook from the Ospreys with Darren Edwards, the Dragons head coach, declaring: “Perpignan are a team that our players know and they have obvious ambition – their signing of James shows this and they are sure to be a big challenge for us.

“If Hook is at No 10 for Perpignan, it will be a great challenge for Jason Tovey to pitch himself against another Welsh outside half.

“The Amlin Challenge Cup is massively important to us. European exposure is what we need to work on - particularly our away form. These matches will all help us to develop, hopefully, for being back in the top tier of European competition next season.

“Exeter are a team that have done particularly well having got promotion to the Premiership. They have some quality players and I’m sure they will be keen to take on a Welsh region.

“Cavalieri Prato are obviously the unknown quantity in our Pool. They are a team we don’t know too much about but we want to concentrate on our performance and it may give us an opportunity to blood some of our younger players who are what we are concentrating on at Rodney Parade as I believe that the path for our development as a region lies in developing the talent within.”

Stade Français Paris, the 2011 finalists, are paired with English Championship winners Worcester Warriors, Crociati Parma and Bucharest Wolves of Romania in Pool 1.

Spain’s representative, Club de Rugby La Vila, who will join Lyonin making their debut in the competition, find themselves in Pool 5 along with two times Amlin Challenge Cup winners Sale Sharks, 1997 Heineken Cup winners Brive, and Agen.
The five Pool winners will progress into the quarter-finals where they will be joined by three Pool runners-up from the Heineken Cup. Harlequins, who won the Amlin Challenge Cup for a record third time last season, gained promotion into the Heineken Cup as a result of their victory.

The draw was overseen by IRB Legal Counsel, Ben Rutherford.

Amlin Challenge Cup 2011 / 2012 Pools

Pool 1: Stade Francais Paris, Worcester Warriors, Crociati Parma, Bucharest Wolves
Pool 2: Toulon, Newcastle Falcons, Petrarca Padova, Lyon Rugby
Pool 3: London Wasps, Bayonne, Femi-CZ Rovigo, Bordeaux-Begles
Pool 4: Perpignan, Newport Gwent Dragons, Exeter Chiefs, Cavalieri Prato
Pool 5: Sale Sharks, Brive, Agen, Club de Rugby La Vila

Amlin Challenge Cup 2011/12 Dates

ROUND 1 – 10/11/12/13 November 2011
ROUND 2 – 17/18/19/20 November 2011
ROUND 3 – 8/9/10/11 December 2011
ROUND 4 – 15/16/17/18 December 2011
ROUND 5 – 12/13/14/15 January 2012
ROUND 6 – 19/20/21/22 January 2012
QUARTER-FINALS – 6/7/8 April 2012
SEMI-FINALS – 27/28/29 April 2012
The 16th Amlin Challenge Cup Final – 18/19/20 May 2012