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One-club man Will Welch to retire after 15 seasons at Newcastle
Will Welch has confirmed that he will retire from playing at the end of the current season following a 15-year career with Newcastle Falcons. A statement read: “Newcastle Falcons great Will Welch, a one-club man who has spent 15 years playing for his hometown team, will retire from rugby at the end of the current season.
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“The 33-year-old sits joint-second on the Falcons’ all-time appearance list, having done battle on 275 occasions. The former RGS Newcastle pupil made his first-team debut as an 18-year-old in October 2008 and became the Falcons’ youngest-ever captain when he took over the reins at the age of just 22, leading the club to promotion and forming the cornerstone of the Falcons’ pack for well over a decade.
“Welch is tied in second with Tom May on 275 appearances for the Falcons, with the pair both 12 behind the former prop and current forwards coach Micky Ward. It has also been confirmed that Will Welch will have a testimonial year, details of which will be announced in due course. The flanker hopes to remain in Newcastle where he and his wife Laura have two sons, Rex and Max.”
Welch said: “It’s meant the world to me for me to play for the team I used to come and watch when I was a kid. From being in the Falcons academy, signing professionally as a teenager and going on to spend my whole career here – the whole thing has just been a dream.
“I have had an ankle issue for the past couple of seasons which has been niggling me every week, and I just needed to get it sorted. It’s a six-month recovery which unfortunately takes me past the end of this season, but on the positive side it will fix it for life after rugby. I’ll at least be able to run around with my kids, and I’m retiring on my own terms.
? A few snaps from the Will Welch archives. pic.twitter.com/tWwwur3CQ6
— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) April 12, 2023
“I have been thinking about retirement for a little while now, and it was probably going to come at some point in the near future anyway with the way my ankle was. Coupled with the fact I have a career opportunity outside of rugby, it just feels like the right time. I could potentially have tried to hold on for another year, but I don’t want to do it that way.
“This decision just means I’m doing it on my own terms and I know this is my last season, rather than having it forced upon me. I spoke to a number of people who have already retired from rugby, and a lot of them just had that moment where they were like ‘that’s me, I’m done’.
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“It was similar for me, to be honest, and there was just a point where I knew it was the right call. I’m happy with my decision, I have loved my time here and now I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life.
“Doing something fresh and different is a new challenge for me, and I’m excited about that. I’m doing my finance exams at the moment with a view to taking a job after that. I’ve had the chance to plan for this, and it’s much better that way rather than being pushed out or having an injury make the decision for me.
“It’s been a rollercoaster journey at times, but one that I have enjoyed. I always wanted to be there for the club and help them through those difficult situations, but the support from my teammates and the staff at the club has always been great.
“There is a good bunch of us came through around the same time with the likes of Alex Tait and Mark Wilson, and we all share the same feeling around how much the club means to us.”
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Newcastle chairman Semore Kurdi added: “Will retires as a true Newcastle Falcons great, and it has been an absolute privilege to have him with us for well over a decade. He is somebody who always put the team before individual gain, he gave absolutely everything on the field and the work he did behind the scenes as club captain was outstanding.
“He epitomises everything we are about as a club, and I wish him every success once his time with us comes to an end. Hopefully we’ll still have the pleasure of having him on site for game days with his family, and he’ll continue to be part of the club in a different way.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
129 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
129 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
129 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
129 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
129 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
129 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
129 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
129 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
129 Go to commentsHo hum.
129 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
129 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
129 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
129 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
129 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
129 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
129 Go to comments