Premiership
Falcons snap up London Irish Out-Half
Thursday 22 June 2023
Rory Jennings has become Newcastle Falcons’ latest signing, joining the Kingston Park club on a two-year deal.
The 27-year-old plays fly-half or centre and has spent the past two seasons with London Irish, having arrived in 2021 from French giants Clermont.
Englishman Jennings is a product of the Bath academy who played five Premiership games for the West Country outfit before joining Coventry, where he was joint top-scorer during the 2020-21 campaign.
Playing for England Under-20s in the 2015 Junior World Championship final against New Zealand, he stands at 176cm (5 foot 9) and 84kg (13 stone 3).
Jennings made 19 appearances for London Irish last season, 11 of them in the Gallagher Premiership and four in the Heineken Champions Cup, with Newcastle Falcons head coach Alex Codling delighted to have him on board.
Codling said: “Rory brings with him a lot of different qualities and is someone that I’ve worked with before, so I know he’s a great character.
“He’s been a key part of a London Irish team who played exceptionally well last season and I’m looking forward to seeing him make a really positive impact here.
“He’s very comfortable playing either at centre or fly-half and he has a great ability to play at the line, which will suit the way we want to play. That option to have him as a second receiver gives us great flexibility, but he’ll make a big contribution wherever he plays.”
Glad to have his future secured following the news that London Irish will not compete in the upcoming Gallagher Premiership, Jennings said: “First and foremost I’m really excited to be joining Newcastle Falcons and to be given the opportunity.
“I want to get stuck in straightaway and contribute to the group, but of course it would be remiss of me not to mention the recent events at London Irish. The club and supporters there have given me a huge amount over the past two years, which I’ll never forget.
“It’s been a tremendously difficult time affecting a lot of really good people, but it doesn’t take away from the fact a new opportunity has opened up for me at Newcastle. I’m really thankful for that and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the club.
“I worked with the Falcons’ new head coach Alex Codling for a brief period when I went on loan from Bath to Ealing, and know him to be a very good coach. It’ll be great to link up with him again, and I know quite a few of the other players already from either playing with them or meeting them around various things.”
Looking forward to making an impact at Kingston Park, he added: “I’m very competitive and I’ll give absolutely everything for every second I’m on the pitch or in the training environment.
“I’ve played fly-half and centre plenty of times, and I’m happy to play wherever I’m needed. I’ll go wherever the coaches want me and wherever’s best for the team, and I can’t wait to get up there next week to begin the journey.
“As a visiting player I know Newcastle to be a very difficult place to come and get a result at, so I’d imagine they’ll be looking to build on that whole fortress mentality. It will be good to be on the other side of that, and the North-East crowd always seem like they get right into it.
“Away from the rugby it just seems like a great city with friendly people, and I’ll try to throw myself into getting out and about round the region. It’s a great opportunity from both a rugby and lifestyle point of view, and as sad as it was the way things panned out at London Irish I’m just grateful to have this chance.”
Jennings becomes the Falcons’ 12th senior signing following the previously-announced arrivals of Murray McCallum (Edinburgh), Eduardo Bello (Saracens), Cameron Hutchison (Edinburgh), Hugh O’Sullivan (London Irish), Tim Cardall (Melbourne Rebels), Louis Brown (Coventry), Ollie Leatherbarrow (Exeter Chiefs), Kiran McDonald (ex-Munster), Bryan Byrne (Bristol Bears), Josh Bainbridge (Coventry) and John Kelly (Doncaster Knights).
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RORY JENNINGS BIO
Position: Fly-half/centre
Born: 24/12/1995
Height: 1.76m (5ft 9)
Weight: 84kg (13st 3)
Honours: England U20
Source – Newcastle Falcons Rugby
Sale Sharks can confirm that fly-half George Ford suffered a tear to his right quad during the early stages of the Gallagher Premiership round two game at Saracens on Saturday. Following a positive consultation with a specialist it was decided that George does not require surgery and he will now begin his rehab ahead of a busy period for club and country.
Images & Content from Sale Sharks Rugby
Alex Sanderson has made six changes to his starting XV to face Gloucester Rugby in the first game of the season under the Salford Stadium Friday night lights, while summer signing Le Roux Roets appears in a matchday squad for the first time (Discovery+, 7.45pm KO).
Josh Beaumont, Ernst van Rhyn and Rouban Birch come into the pack following the round two defeat at Saracens, while Sam Bedlow, Will Addison and Arron Reed are picked in the backs to face George Skivington’s men.
In total, 12 of the XV and 19 in the matchday 23 have come through or spent time in the Sharks Academy.
The Sharks front-row remains intact from the trip to the StoneX as England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up once again between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and loosehead Si McIntyre.
Al has picked a towering second-row as Ben Bamber teams up with Josh Beaumont.
With Ben and Tom Curry as well as JL du Preez all missing as they undergo their return to play protocols following head injuries, Ernst van Rhyn returns alongside fellow flanker Sam Dugdale and Birch at number 8.
Gus Warr starts again at scrum-half but with George Ford injured (quad) he’ll have skipper Rob du Preez for company at half-back. After coming on as a replacement against Saracens, Bedlow starts alongside Addison, who makes his first start since re-joining the club in the summer.
Speedster Arron Reed makes his first appearance of the season alongside Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter.
Hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper cover the front row from the replacements bench with England U20s lock Tom Burrow and summer signing Le Roux Roets covering the rest of the forwards. Nye Thomas, Tom Curtis and Waisea Nayacalevu cover the backs.
Sale Sharks starting XV:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Will Addison, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Rob du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Josh Beaumont 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Rouban Birch.
Replacements:
16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Tom Burrow, 20. Le Roux Roets, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Waisea Nayacalevu.
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Injuries have forced Alex Sanderson to make three changes to his starting XV to face Saracens at the StoneX on Saturday (3.05pm KO, Saturday 28th September, live on TNT Sports).
Si McIntyre replaces last week’s Player of the Match Bevan Rodd (hamstring), while Ben Bamber and Sam Dugdale come in for Ernst van Rhyn and Tom Curry who are both undergoing their return to play protocols after leaving the field during the round one win over Harlequins.
With Sam Bedlow returning to the bench to make a 5-3 split, the matchday squad features 16 players who have come through or been involved with the Sale Sharks Academy.
In the front-row, England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lines up between 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour and returning loosehead McIntyre.
Al has picked a towering second-row as Bamber teams up with Hyron Andrews.
Openside flanker Ben Curry captains the side again and he and Dugdale will pack down either side of Jean-Luc du Preez at number 8.
The backs are unchanged from the narrow win over Quins, with Gus Warr starting again at scrum-half alongside fly-half George Ford, and Rob du Preez and Waisea Nayacalevu outside them in the centres.
Alex has picked a familiar back three once again with Tom O’Flaherty, Tom Roebuck and full-back Joe Carpenter hoping to provide the spark.
The replacements bench is an exclusively Sharks Academy affair with hooker Ethan Caine, and props Tumy Onasanya and James Harper covering the front row. Josh Beaumont and Rouban Birch make up the rest of the forwards, while Nye Thomas, Bedlow and Will Addison cover the backs.
Sale Sharks Starting lineup:
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Waisea Nayacalevu, 12. Rob du Preez, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Hyron Andrews, 6. Sam Dugdale, 7. Ben Curry ©, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez.
Replacements:
16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. James Harper, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Rouban Birch, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Sam Bedlow, 23. Will Addison.
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