Newcastle set to defy RFU edict

Newcastle may be heading for a Cup showdown - not with Sale in the semi-finals, but with the RFU.

Falcons owner Dave Thompson and manager Rob Andrew insist the semi-final will be played nowhere but Kingston Park despite an RFU edict that the venues must have a minimum capacity of 8,000.

Only 3,293 turned up at Newcastle yesterday and the current limit is 7,200 but Thompson and Andrew expect the Falcons to play Sale there on January 6.

'Newcastle City Council have inspected the ground and are happy to let 8,000 in for this game,' said Thompson, who described the RFU's edict as 'brainless'.

England fly half Jonny Wilkinson, who scored 23 points, including a crucial cheeky try, to steer Newcastle to a quarter-final win, said: 'We're playing here whatever the RFU says.'

Liam Botham and Inga Tuigamala scored Newcastle's other tries.