Pearson eager to help Saints bounce back in festive fixture

The black, green and gold host Newcastle Falcons on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

And after last weekend's 39-24 defeat at Saracens, Pearson is hoping a return to a sold-out Gardens can bring a happy end to 2024 for Saints.

"It's brilliant to be back at home," Pearson said.

"Games like this, it's tough having to work during this period but it's all made worth it when they're sold-out matches and there's a great atmosphere, which is always is at this time of the year.

"Hopefully we can get back to winning ways."

When asked how this week has been following that defeat at Saracens, Pearson said: "It's been a strange week with only two real training days and Christmas in the middle.

"It's been a bit bizarre and it seems like the game has come around quickly, which is nice because with a disappointing result last week we want to get back on the horse and get back to winning ways.

"We just didn't look after the ball well at all last weekend, which meant we weren't able to put a proper Saints performance on the pitch.

"We didn't play like we know we can, which is extremely frustrating for us and the coaches.

"We turned the ball over 20-odd times and you're really going to struggle to win a match if that's the case so we can't let ourselves do that tomorrow."

But Pearson knows Saints won't have it all their own way against a Newcastle side who have already beaten Exeter Chiefs and Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership so far this season.

"They've had a good start," Pearson said.

"They had a win against Sarries a couple of weeks ago and no one would really have seen that coming.

"Fair play to them, they're a good bunch of players and they will want to get on top early, which is something we've got to be aware of.

"They're physical, direct and they're a smart team.

"As we've seen in the Exeter and Saracens games, you can't underestimate them."

Pearson will start at seven for Saints, with Josh Kemeny, who is making his first appearance since November 1, and Henry Pollock joining him in the back row.

"Kem's back this week, which is great," Pearson said. "He's a great lineout forward, a great athlete so I love playing alongside him.

"We've got (Henry Pollock) at eight and those are two guys with a lot of energy who are going to get through a lot of work so it's a good balance and I'm looking forward to it."