Alan Dickens: accepting Newcastle offer was "a no-brainer"

Alan Dickens will resume his Premiership career at Newcastle, having been appointed as senior coach of the Falcons.

The former scrum-half was placed on leave by Leicester Tigers last October and wasn’t seen in his role as attack coach at Mattioli Woods Welford Road for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.

Prior to his role at Leicester, Dickens was head coach of England Under-20s, holding the position for four years.

Most notably, Dickens spent over a decade as part of the coaching team at Northampton Saints, including roles within the club’s academy programme, attack and defence.

For a brief period, he served as interim head coach of the Saints when the club sacked Newcastle consultant Director of Rugby Steve Diamond’s good friend, Jim Mallinder.

The 48-year-old also enjoyed a distinguished career as a professional player, featuring for Sale Sharks, Leeds Carnegie, Saracens and Northampton Saints.

Speaking on the latest addition to his coaching team and his former colleague, director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “I’m delighted to welcome Alan to Newcastle Falcons.

“His extensive experience in both playing and coaching in the Premiership will be invaluable as we strive to compete at the highest level.

“Alan embodies the mentality we are instilling throughout the club, from the coaching staff to the players, and more importantly, understands the challenge that lies ahead.

“His commitment to hard work will be crucial in helping us achieve our goal of becoming a highly respected Premiership team.”

Relishing his move to Tyneside and a link-up with Diamond once more, Knowsley-born Dickens said: “I’ve known Steve since around 2001 when I first became a professional rugby player, and since then we’ve had a handful of opportunities to work together.

“He’s somebody that I hold in high regard, and when he approached me for the position it was a no-brainer. It’s certainly an exciting time for the club.

“I’ll be taking on the role of a senior coach at the Falcons, overseeing both attack and defence.

“I know there’s a strong group of coaches at the club who are very loyal, such as Micky Ward, Mark Laycock and James Ponton, who are local people to the club, and then there’s Tom Williams, an enthusiastic young coach. So it’ll be great to get settled in and work with them for the new season.”