Marmite coaches, swelling crowds and now star signings: why Newcastle Falcons are soaring higher than their better-resourced rivals
Light has been cast on the omnipresent shadow of relegation long lurking behind Newcastle’s Falcons, with the North East club well-installed at the mid-point of the Premiership table having staged a remarkable second half comeback to beat Northampton Saints 46-31 on Sunday afternoon.
The club’s new artificial playing surface has produced multiple exciting performances and consequently crowds have expanded, with the Falcons now looking to be in rude health.
It’s not necessarily that supporters are fickle, but perhaps rather that the marginal fan who is happy enough to open a bottle of Newcastle Brown and watch the game at home is more inclined to do so when the local side comes up short yet again in the horizontal rain.
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Victories against Bath, Harlequins, Northampton and Gloucester have kept the turnstiles revolving, while Pacific islanders Opeti Fonua, Nili Latu, Sinoti Sinoti and Niki Goneva have expressed the playing styles to inspire fans both young and old.
Backs coach Dave Walder was far too intelligent to be a rugby player, but is using his cerebral capacity effectively to extract the most from a back line that features some bright sparks.
Walder is a “Marmite” character, but fortunately it seems that the men in black aren’t averse to a spoonful of the yeasty gloop.
A squad that remains a little light on class has achieved a commendable amount over the current campaign, re-establishing itself under Dean Richards’ leadership following a return from the Championship just two seasons ago.
Kingston Park isn’t an intimidating place to visit, rather it has the feel of a local club with traditional values, but Newcastle have found the ambition and confidence to outscore many a visitor.
The Falcons know they can overcome better-resourced teams and are actively making statements about their direction of travel, exemplified last week through the signing of Maxime Mermoz of Toulon, and two weeks more latterly of Leicester Tigers.
The club will, however, have to hope they can keep hold of Marcus Watson, the older and more substantially built brother of England starlet Anthony who has been rumoured to be heading to Wasps.
Attracting big names is not something the club has found particularly easy in recent seasons and it’s some statement that Mermoz has swapped the French Mediterranean for the Tyne’s Riviera. It’s all change up north.