Jamie Blamire returns for Newcastle Falcons on Saturday when they travel for a pivotal Premiership Rugby Cup clash against Leicester Tigers.

The 3pm kick-off at Mattioli Woods Welford Road sees the two unbeaten teams in Pool B doing battle, with Newcastle and Leicester locked on 14 points after winning all three of their games so far. Only the four group winners go through to the semi-finals, with Saturday’s game in the East Midlands providing the penultimate pool clash.

England hooker Blamire comes back into a Falcons side which won 23-10 at home to Sale Sharks last time out – the Cumbrian having spent much of the summer with England’s Rugby World Cup training squad.

He joins a team showing four further changes from last week – Elliott Obatoyinbo coming in at full-back and Sam Stuart lining up at scrum-half.

Kiran McDonald and Mark Tampin return to the forward pack, with Olympian and former Welsh international back-rower Sam Cross set to make his debut from the bench.

Newcastle Falcons head coach Alex Codling said: “It’s certainly a big game. We’ve been building nicely over the past few weeks and I was delighted with the performance and the victory against Sale last Friday.

“In the first half our attacking intent and our ability to build pressure were really pleasing, and in the second half we showed a lot of resilience in the face of significant pressure. We managed to fight and not concede anything for the most part, but we also recognise we’ve still got work to do.

“Our focus moves on to Leicester now, and the boys are looking forward to it.

“It’s a great English rugby ground, they’ve got a new coaching staff similarly to ourselves and we know it will be a massive physical battle. Welford Road is always a fantastic place to go and play at, it will be a huge challenge upfront and they’ll really test us in the set piece and the breakdown.”

Using the cup campaign to give game time to his squad but also conscious of taking the opportunity for silverware, Codling added: “We’ve used 34 players in the first three games so it’s been great as a development tool, and we saw an 18-year-old coming in last week in Ben Redshaw who had an outstanding game.

“He showed his quality and his potential which we were delighted with, and then on Saturday we’ve got an international-class hooker in Jamie Blamire coming back into the side. He’s a massive player for this club and it’s really positive to have him back available for what is a very important game.

“In terms of the Premiership Rugby Cup from a wider perspective the boys are aware of the opportunity we have this weekend in terms of progression in the competition. Every time we take the field we’re looking to get a positive result, and Saturday will be no different.

“Leicester away is a big challenge in itself but we’re also four games into a cup competition, and the boys are fully aware of what’s at stake.”

Newcastle Falcons team v Leicester Tigers (Saturday, 3pm, Mattioli Woods Welford Road)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Mark Tampin, 4 Tim Cardall, 5 Kiran McDonald, 6 Freddie Lockwood, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Louie Johnson, 23 Cameron Hutchison.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Joe Powell, 1 Francois Van Wyk, 2 Charlie Clare, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Cameron Henderson, 5 Harry Wells, 6 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 7 Olly Cracknell, 8 Matt Rogerson.

Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Kyle Hatherell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Phil Cokanasiga.

Referee: George Selwood.