Beware... Newcastle's David and Goliath act yet to meet its toughest challenge
It was not the finale to Newcastle Falcons’ season that neutrals up and down the country had hoped for.
After a spirited second half of the 2016/17 Aviva Premiership season, that almost saw Newcastle qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup, the challenge was set for the club coming into this season to maintain that level of play and not drop back down into the relegation battle that had been an annual fixture of Falcons’ seasons in the recent past.
Well, Dean Richards’ men defied the detractors and naysayers, and not only did they not drop back down into the battle at the bottom of the table, they continued to take the scalps of the bigger and more established teams towards the Premiership’s summit. Their David and Goliath-inspired season culminated in a trip to the playoffs, a place that just a couple of seasons ago it seemed unthinkable that the Falcons could arrive at.
The fairytale was set. A trip to the home of the current champion Exeter Chiefs, with nothing to lose. A chance to shock all those watching and book a date at Twickenham in the Premiership’s showpiece event.
Nothing to lose, that is, until they did have something to lose.
Pride.
It’s not that they were embarrassed in any way, as teams have gone down to the south-west and been beaten far more prodigiously on the scoreboard, it was more their inability to do anything, at all, about it.
It was a harrowing final 80 minutes of the season for Richards and his men who, through a combination of their own mistakes and the sheer swarming and suffocating nature of Exeter’s play, were unable to fire a shot at Sandy Park.
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If there was a theory that the Falcons had been keeping the powder dry in their Round 22 home loss to Wasps, they needn’t have bothered, such was the one-way nature of this contest. To say Exeter didn’t give Newcastle a sniff would be an understatement.
The first half bordered on one of the most dominant halves of rugby ever witnessed. The scoreline may have only read 16-0 to Exeter at the interval – and that was to the credit of the Newcastle defence – but the Chiefs boasted 93% territory, 368 metres made to Newcastle’s 10 metres made and the home side had only had to make nine tackles, to a whopping 149 made by Newcastle. Half the Exeter team hadn’t even had to make a single tackle in 40 minutes of rugby.
Stats without context can be misleading and they certainly don’t always decide games, but in this case, they were entirely representative of a match that saw Newcastle taken by the throat by Exeter, right from the opening kick-off.
The game did even up statistically somewhat in the second half, but the damage was long done by then, with Exeter having established a nice buffer of a lead and the Newcastle players having to suck in oxygen at all available times.
It was a savage and timely reminder of the work that still needs to be done by Newcastle, if they are to realise their ambitions and genuinely contend for the title in the seasons to come, but it shouldn’t detract from what has been an immensely successful season for the club from the north-east.
Newcastle defied expectations from Round 1 – a 35-8 thrashing of Worcester Warriors at Kingston Park – and shook off any assumptions that their loftier position in the Premiership hierarchy the previous campaign was a one-season wonder.
Under Richards’ guidance, the Falcons found a steel on the road that hadn’t previously been there, exemplified perfectly in their narrow away victories over Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints, London Irish, Gloucester and Bath, as well as slightly more rampant away wins over Harlequins and Leicester Tigers.
In fact, the only teams to deny Newcastle a win on the road in the Premiership this season were Exeter, Saracens, Worcester and Wasps. Those eight away wins were the most by any side in the competition, with even Saracens and Exeter having to settle for seven apiece.
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They took their fair share of plunder at the annual Premiership awards night, as you might expect, with Vereniki Goneva winning the Premiership Player of the Season award, as well as being joint top try-scorer, whilst Richards picked up the Director of Rugby of the Season gong.
A playoff appearance and awards weren’t the only highlights of the season, either, with a bumper crowd of 30,174 – a Newcastle record – turning up to St James’ Park to witness the Falcons’ 25-22 victory over Northampton.
This, rightfully, will be remembered as a season when Newcastle made the leap up the Premiership hierarchy, not for a one-sided semi-final appearance, but that poses a whole new set of challenges for the Falcons going into the offseason. Challenges, it’s likely, that will test the club sternly.
No longer are Newcastle considered plucky underdogs, despite their lack of financial firepower relative to some of the teams around them, they are now expected to compete. Expected to contend at the top of the table, whilst also featuring in the much more demanding Champions Cup.
A remarkable season has come to an end. First top-four finish in 20 years, Euro semi-final, Anglo-Welsh semi-final and so many amazing moments. Thank you for your outstanding support and good humour. See you next season!
— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) May 19, 2018
The club’s squad will be stretched, they won’t be able to rest players in Europe and focus on domestic matters and fans, no matter how loyal, will be expectant. They will want that gap that currently separates Newcastle from Exeter and Saracens bridged or, at the least, reined in somewhat.
That, itself, is an unenviable challenge and one which many clubs with larger budgets, such as Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Bath, have failed to accomplish in recent seasons, offering promise and challenge before falling back into the midtable of the competition. Even Wasps, who have maintained a similar standing with the pair at the top of the table, have come unstuck in the playoffs, unable to quite match the two most recent champions.
Does that mean that Newcastle’s hopes of their rise continuing unabated next season are doomed to fail?
One thing which certainly will aid Richards is the fact that Newcastle no longer seem to be haemorrhaging players each summer.
Key contributors such as Rob Vickers, Scott Lawson and Ally Hogg are retiring, admittedly, but the other players leaving are not leaving in spite of Newcastle’s wishes, they are players the club is content to allow to move on to pastures new and the core of the squad has been contracted up and retained.
Logovi’i Mulipola and George McGuigan have been brought in from Leicester to bolster the front-row, whilst powerful centre Johnny Williams arrives from London Irish, ready to give Newcastle’s midfield a new dimension, after Maxime Mermoz struggled with injury in his debut campaign on Tyneside.
They have also added English flanker Connor Collett, who has been making waves with North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup down in New Zealand, having risen swiftly through the ranks after heading south to play club rugby.
Is it enough to bridge that gap with the two finalists? Honestly, the answer is no, it’s probably not, but it does speak to the progress being made in the north-east.
As talented a director of rugby as Richards may be, he knows this is an ongoing process and not something which can be achieved overnight.
Consolidation is the priority right now.
Gloucester are improving under Johan Ackermann’s tutelage and Bath came on strong down the stretch, qualifying for the Champions Cup when many had written them off. Northampton will be welcoming in the vision and coaching IQ of Chris Boyd later this summer and Leicester are too good not to be in the mix for long. Harlequins are a wild card, too, and will likely be a very different prospect under their new coaching set-up, whilst Wasps will not meekly fall out of playoffs themselves.
There is no shortage of suitors for Falcons’ place in the top third of the competition, all of whom, worryingly, can outspend the Falcons.
And herein lies the challenge for Newcastle, straddling the divide between the contenders and the wannabes in the league, not wanting to allow the top teams to get away from them, whilst also having to see off the challenges of those who would steal their spot.
Coming up from the midtable sees teams operate with freedom and without pressure, whilst the glare of the spotlight from being a playoff side has blinded plenty of teams in seasons gone by.
Call it second season syndrome if you want or just put it down to how competitive the Premiership is outside of the top two, but the real test of the new look Newcastle Falcons will come in the 2018/19 season.
Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments