Newcastle Falcons will return to St. James' Park on Saturday, March 23rd, with a 5.30pm (GMT) kick-off for The Big One.

Hosted for the first time last season in front 30,174 fans, a record home crowd for the region's only professional rugby union club, the match saw the Falcons take a 25-22 win over Northampton Saints in an exciting encounter.

Falling once again on a football's international weekend, The Big One is the first of four huge rugby matches that St. James' Park will host in 2019, with the European Rugby Challenge Cup and Heineken Champions Cup finals in May and England v Italy in September.

With tickets starting from just £10 for adults and £5 for under 16s, the game against Sale affords a perfect opportunity to get set for these further high profile games.

Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards said: "It was an incredible experience to be involved in last season's fixture at St. James' Park and the chance to go there again is another fantastic opportunity for us and our supporters.

"The North East public are renowned for coming out and supporting major events. It will be a real celebration of rugby and to play at such an iconic stadium is a chance not to be missed."

Newcastle Falcons captain Will Welch added: "I'm a lifelong Newcastle United supporter; I've gone there regularly from when I was a kid and it's great that we will have the chance to return to St. James' Park.

​"Last season's game there was one of the stand-out moments of my career, captaining the side in front of more than 30,000 people, and I'm sure there'll be similar levels of excitement around this season’s fixture."

To purchase tickets for The Big One, please visit book.nufc.co.uk, call 0344 372 1892 or visit the St. James' Park box office (Milburn Stand) in person.