2019 - The Year Of Rugby In Newcastle

A tremendously exciting year of rugby is now underway, with Newcastle set to stage a number of major events during 2019.

Newcastle Falcons return to St James’ Park for The Big One on Saturday March 23, facing northern rivals Sale Sharks in the Gallagher Premiership. Last season’s fixture at the home of Newcastle United almost trebled the club’s record attendance as a crowd of 30,174 filed through the turnstiles, and sales for this season’s Big One have proved even stronger with figures up on the same time last year.

The iconic venue is also set to host a number of other mouth-watering fixtures throughout the calendar year. European club rugby’s biggest weekend comes to Tyneside when St James’ Park hosts ‘The One To Win’, the Heineken Champions Cup final, on Saturday May 11, less than 24 hours after the same venue plays host to the European Challenge Cup final. All general sale match tickets have already been snapped up for the Champions Cup final, with only hospitality packages remaining in addition to the tickets set aside for supporters of the two competing finalists.

Remarkable demand has made it the fastest-selling Champions Cup final in tournament history, with the European Challenge Cup final also showing healthy sales figures on what promises to be a must-see weekend of top-class rugby. International rugby also gets in on the act when St James’ Park hosts England v Italy on Friday September 6, the Quilter International providing England’s Rugby World Cup 2019 launch pad in their final warm-up match before flying out to Japan.

Newcastle Falcons’ executive director Mick Hogan said: “The buzz in the North East about rugby in 2019 is huge, which is understandable when you consider the quality and range of events we have in store. “Newcastle Falcons’ regular-season home games include mouth-watering matches against the likes of Worcester Warriors, Leicester Tigers and The Big One at St James’ Park, which proved such a success last season. “On top of that we have the European club finals and England’s long-awaited first full international in the North East, and there are still opportunities for people to see these games in the flesh.”