Falcons not exactly off to a flying start

European Cup Previews: Newcastle's rugby players and management are reported to have been involved in a mid-air near miss with a jumbo jet.

The rugby squad were on board an Easyjet flight when they say they came so close to another plane, they could see the passengers on the other aircraft.

Falcons' coach and former England captain Rob Andrew and club owner Dave Thompson witnessed the incident as they headed to France for their Heineken European Cup game against Perpignan today (Sky Sports 2, kick-off: 3 p.m.).

"The other plane was a big passenger one and it was so close I could see the heads of the individual passengers through its cabin windows, Andrew said. "How the two planes missed I'll never know, but it confirms my belief in the destiny of the club."

An Easyjet spokeswoman denied there was a near miss and a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority - which investigates near misses - said they had heard nothing about the reported incident.

The Falcons are one win away from securing a quarter-final place, and they will secure top spot in Pool Five if they win today. Perpignan, though, have last-eight ambitions of their own.

And the odds are stacked against Jonny Wilkinson and company at Stade Aime Giral, given that the Catalan outfit boast 13 victories from 15 European Cup starts on home soil.

Only Leicester and London Wasps have flown home with Perpignan's scalp, which underlines the enormous task facing a Newcastle side unbeaten in Europe this season.

"We've heard all the stories from the Wasps players, who went there and won last year, so we know what it entails to go and get a victory in Perpignan," England centre Jamie Noon said.

"We must make sure we are disciplined on the field. We've watched the Wasps game from last season on tape, and there were a few incidents in that match, but we have to be clever and make sure that we don't react to them."

Along with Munster and the Neath-Swansea Ospreys, French club Castres also remain in the Pool Four shake-up, and they should encounter few problems against Harlequins today, especially as Quins are minus an injured Will Greenwood and a rested Andre Vos.

Tomorrow afternoon's action sees Leicester hosting Biarritz (Sky Sports 2, kick-off 3 p.m.) and Wasps taking on Calvisano in Pool One, with Northampton travelling to face Pool Three opponents Llanelli Scarlets (Sky Sports 2, kick-off: 1 p.m.).

Leicester welcome back wing Austin Healey, with Will Johnson replacing injured number eight Martin Corry as the Tigers look to follow up their home and away victories against Wasps with another key success.

"French sides, as a rule, don't travel well, but this Biarritz side has enough international experience to cope with the travel bug and turn up and play," said Leicester player-coach Richard Cockerill. "This is a game we have to win if we have any aspirations of progressing to the quarter-finals.

"The ball really is in our court, and if we can't get a win over them at home, then we don't deserve to go through, do we?"

Wasps, who are likely to progress as a best runner-up if they beat Calvisano and then win in Biarritz next weekend, include England wing Josh Lewsey at outside centre, while English Premier League strugglers Northampton know victory at Stradey Park will keep their last-eight hopes alive.