The Mark Laycock verdict on Walder exiting 'emotional' Newcastle
Interim head coach Mark Laycock has held his first media briefing since he was asked on March 13 to take temporary charge at Newcastle through to the end of the season. It was two days after the Falcons lost their fourth successive Gallagher Premiership match away to Exeter that the attack coach was asked to step into the breach after it was decided to relieve head coach Dave Walder of his duties with immediate effect.
It was then Thursday of last week when the decision became public knowledge after the players, who had been on a few days off, returned to training ahead of this Friday’s home game versus Gloucester and they were informed by chairman of rugby Matt Thompson what had happened with Walder.
Laycock has now shed light on what unfolded, telling media on Wednesday lunchtime: “I’m still looking after the attack. Dave has stepped into the background so Mark Wilson has taken on a bit more responsibility on the defensive side, which was the area that Dave was primarily overseeing. So I will still look after the attack and take a bit more added responsibility around team selection, planning, what we do for the week.
“There has been nothing negative. Everyone has been really supportive, externally and internally. Obviously, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster over the last 10 days with everything that has gone on but the staff and the group that we have got here have really pulled together and I have been really impressed by everyone’s attitude going above and beyond to help us try and turn things around.
“I found out on Monday last week what the situation was, the players were off for a couple of days not having a game so on Thursday morning they were called in and we had a meeting to explain the situation.
'In the England squad, I now have a lot of friends but when the whistle starts they are no more friends, I play for Argentina, for my country'@tutemoroni talks to @heagneyl ??? #rwc2023 https://t.co/6paVPvm4GI
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 5, 2023
“To be honest, everyone had concerns as you would with your head coach moving on, but Mark Thompson came, spoke to everyone, and explained the reasons why and since that point we have had a real focus on looking forward and taking it one step at a time to really drive ourselves forward as a squad.”
Laycock insisted that the cutting loose of Walder wasn’t a cost-cutting measure by Newcastle, who are currently 10th in the 11-team league with just five wins from their 16 matches. “Not as far as I am aware, Dave and the club had been negotiating around the future, his future at the club and unfortunately, they couldn’t agree on where it was going to fit.
“So Dave was asked to step back away from the squad and for us to take over in this short period of time while the recruitment process is ongoing. I don’t think it is a case of trying to make cutbacks, it’s more a change in approach and a change in voice we are looking for.”
Is Laycock himself interested in becoming the Newcastle head coach? “I have spoken to the board about the future. My focus is on this week, and we will take it one week at a time until the end of the season. Ultimately my heart is at the club, and I want to help the club achieve its goals in whatever capacity that may be.”
So, what happened in recent weeks that resulted in the exit of Walder? “We felt we were in a pretty good place towards the end of January in terms of our form and we then lost out momentum for a few different reasons,” explained Laycock.
“We were disappointed in our performances over the last couple of weeks. There have been some positives in it but ultimately you are judged on results, and they haven’t been good enough for the bar we have set ourselves.
“We haven’t spoken about a results target. We have spoken about our identity and what we are about and what we want to show the fans. It’s about playing with commitment and ambition and hopefully, those who are there on Friday night will see a little bit of that.
“We have always pulled together in tough times as a squad in the past and I have no doubt that we will continue to do that in the future. Resources are nice to have but they are not necessarily everything and we are quite confident as a group that we can turn things around.”
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments