Chris Harris hopes to mark what would be his 100th game for Newcastle Falcons with some precious Gallagher Premiership points when they visit Saracens on Saturday.
The Scotland centre scored two tries on his debut against the Londoners back in December 2014 and believes the stage could be set for the Falcons to win their fourth successive game as they aim to continue the ‘Great Escape’ at Allianz Park.
“Saracens is a tough one, it always is, but I’m really looking forward to it,” said the 28-year-old, whose side have beaten Sale Sharks, Wasps and Worcester Warriors in their last three outings.
“I made my debut against Sarries and managed to score a couple of tries in a drawn game, so it would be nice to mark my 100thappearance with a win down there if I’m involved.”
Well aware of the threat posed by the champions, he added: “Everyone knows they’re a good side and what they’re about.
“They’re clinical and accurate, but I don’t see it as us going down there with nothing to lose. I see it as a chance to gain points, and if we play our hearts out and give it absolutely everything for 80 minutes I really believe we can do it.”
Looking to erase the three-point gap between themselves and eleventh place in the table, Harris said: “We can’t really do much more than keep winning our games – bonus points would of course be nice but we’ll take the wins, and the fact that we’re now getting those results again is the main thing.
“We set ourselves a target and we’re on course to meet it, we’ve just got to go out this weekend and do what we’ve been doing.
“There’s a bit of pressure on us but we’re dealing with it well, and the boys have a really positive focus about them rather than any fear.
“We’re really driven and very clear about what we need to do, and it all started with the home win over Worcester a month ago. That was a huge pressure game but there was a great edge all week in training, the changing room was noticeably more pumped than it had been previously and we’ve turned the corner.”
Beating Sale Sharks in front of more than 27,000 supporters at St James’ Park last time out, the centre said: “We started pretty slow and a good side like Sale capitalised, but that edge that I talk about came through as the game went on.
“We were that extra bit physical, making dominant tackles and defending as a unit, and we were able to then translate that energy into our attack.
“We’ve definitely turned the corner, the confidence is absolutely flooding round the boys right now and you certainly wouldn’t think we’re a bottom-of-the-league team if you watched our last few games. We just need to keep it going.”