STAYING AFLOAT in the Aviva Premiership will be Newcastle Falcons’ primary aim this season, but for one of their players, anything to do with bobbing along on the surface of the sea is out of bounds.

Having missed Saturday’s 36-17 defeat at Leicester Tigers because of the lingering effects of a summer injury, Alex Tait will hope to make his seasonal debut when Falcons christen Kingston Park’s new artificial surface with a home game against London Irish this weekend.

Ordinarily, the County Durham-born full-back would have been one of the first names on Dean Richards’ team sheet for last weekend’s trip to Welford Road, but a hip problem meant he missed a sizeable chunk of pre-season training.

Injuries are an increasingly prominent part of professional rugby, but in Tait’s case, this particular setback was self-inflicted.

“I had a hip flexor tear, which we think was probably from surfing on my holidays,” said the 26-year-old, who is a product of the established rugby conveyor belt at Barnard Castle School. “I managed to get through the first couple of weeks of pre-season, but it obviously hadn’t had enough time to heal and it flared up again.

“Surfing’s definitely off the menu now – that’s been made pretty clear. I’m not very good either, so it’s a bit of a waste of time!”

At least Tait has only missed one fixture as Falcons look to put last season’s struggles behind them and claim a much more comfortable position well away from the relegation zone.

Last weekend’s defeat, which owed much to a second-half hat-trick from Fijian flyer Vereniki Goneva, was hardly the best way to start, but it would be wrong to read too much into an away reverse at the hands of a Leicester side who are once again strongly fancied to make the play-offs.

Sunday’s home game with London Irish will provide a more meaningful assessment of Falcons’ wellbeing following the arrival of ten summer signings, and with a new surface guaranteeing decent underfoot conditions throughout the campaign, Tait is looking for a marked improvement on last season’s stuttering home form.

“Our expectations are that we want to do a lot better than we did last year,” he said. “Our goal was to survive, but I don’t think we were particularly happy with the way that came about.

“This year, I think it’s probably going to be even tougher. We’ll see where we are after the first few games, and we obviously want to win a few more home matches.

“We want to make this a difficult place to play, and I don’t think last year we did that. We want to make sure we’re a tough, competitive team to play, and get a few more tries on the board.”

Tait, a strong offensive weapon whether at full-back or centre, is one of the players looking to improve his try tally from last season, while the arrival of brothers Alesana and Anitelea Tuilagi should further bolster the attacking ranks.

Juan Pablo Socino, the leading scorer in the Championship last season, should guarantee a steady flow of points from the boot, with Richards having cast his net far and wide in an attempt to mould a squad capable of challenging for the upper reaches of the Premiership table.

Italy international Josh Furno was another key summer addition, but in the likes of Tait, who hails from Wolsingham, George McGuigan, who is from Richmond, and youngster Scott Wilson, who learned his trade at Berwick, Falcons retain a strong northern core.

“I suppose I’m a bit of an elder statesman now, which is strange,” said Tait. “You need to have some local boys providing a core for the club. Mark Wilson signed a new deal recently, which is great, because he’s an awesome bloke and a local lad too.

“It’s important to have people who can really relate to the club, although you don’t mind bringing in foreigners if they’re of the right quality, We’ve got some good signings in here that have excited the boys, and they’ll hopefully make us do well in the Premiership.”

Tait has been working closely with new attacking coach Dave Walder in recent weeks, and the return of the former England international, who spent seven years as a player with Newcastle before moving to London Wasps, could be a key factor in enhancing Falcons’ attacking threat this season.

“I played and trained with Dave a bit when I was here as a youngster, and he’s obviously done the business for Wasps at fly-half, which is a key position,” said Tait. “He understands what the Premiership is all about, and obviously his experience means he’s able to bring that to us.

“He’s very honest and brings a lot of clarity to what we’re trying to do. If standards aren’t being matched, he quickly lets you know what’s acceptable and what’s not, which is great if you want to progress and do well.”