Newcastle Falcons’ long trip to Tbilisi for a European Challenge Cup game encountered a glitch on Friday – in Istanbul.

Newcastle, who are already through to the quarter-finals, encountered a marathon journey of just under 3,000 miles for their Pool One finale against Enisei-STM.

It is understood the Aviva Premiership club faced a trek by by bus from Newcastle to Edinburgh, followed by a flight to Istanbul, then a further Tbilisi-bound flight.

But footage and pictures posted on the Falcons’ official Twitter feed showed their bus stuck in a ditch in Istanbul, with players and other members of the Newcastle group attempting to push it out.

And it would appear their efforts were to no avail, with a further picture posted accompanied by the caption “reserve minibus deployed.”

Newcastle’s Premiership rivals London Irish are also in Tbilisi this weekend, facing Krasny Yar in the second game of a Challenge Cup double-header at the Avchala Stadium.