Newcastle Falcons vs Sale Sharks Match-Day Programme
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STEVE<br />
DIAMOND<br />
CONSULTANT DIRECTOR OF RUGBY<br />
Thank you for coming along today and forming part of what I am<br />
told will be our biggest home crowd of the season.<br />
We have a load of our community clubs with us taking part in<br />
the Defender Premiership Rugby Cup competition prior to our<br />
own kick-off, and it will be great seeing so many local teams<br />
represented here.<br />
As a proud northerner myself I know how much passion for<br />
rugby there is in this part of the world, and it’s vital that we tap<br />
into that as we look to move this club forward, on and off the<br />
field.<br />
I would also like to welcome the players, management and<br />
supporters of <strong>Sale</strong> <strong>Sharks</strong> up here today – a club with which I<br />
have had a long association over the years.<br />
For me it is just another game and there is no greater personal<br />
significance today, but of course I have lots of good friends at<br />
<strong>Sale</strong> <strong>Sharks</strong> and it will be great to catch up after what I am sure<br />
will be a highly physical contest.<br />
Alex Sanderson is a good pal of mine and somebody for whom<br />
I have a huge amount of respect, so we know we’ll be in for a<br />
proper battle against a side with guys like him involved.<br />
I know you will all have shared our disappointment after last<br />
weekend’s game down at Bristol, where we were well beaten<br />
by an in-form side playing great rugby. I think Bristol would have<br />
beaten pretty much anybody with the way they were playing<br />
that day, but of course that does not excuse what was a really<br />
poor performance from our own perspective.<br />
It was all the more disappointing given how well we had<br />
competed in our previous two games against Exeter and<br />
Leicester, and what we can’t do is allow one off day to crash the<br />
progress we feel we had been starting to make.<br />
We’ve been copping some criticism in the aftermath, which<br />
comes with the territory, and I understand people’s frustration.<br />
All we can do is respond on the field, and that is the challenge<br />
we intend to meet today.<br />
Looking further ahead, we have started to announce some of<br />
our new signings for next season, with Edinburgh prop Luan de<br />
Bruin, <strong>Sale</strong> flanker Cameron Neild and Gloucester wing/centre<br />
Alex Hearle all out there in the public domain.<br />
There are a couple more either signed or just about agreed, and<br />
they all fit a similar profile in terms of guys who have got highlevel<br />
experience, are at a good age and who I know well.<br />
They’re not unknown quantities and they’ve been signed for a<br />
specific purpose – to make <strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Falcons</strong> a respected and<br />
highly-competitive team at the Premiership level.<br />
It’s not going to be a quick fix here but we’re starting to put the<br />
building blocks in place, and I’ve been really encouraged by the<br />
support from our local area after what we all know has been a<br />
poor season.<br />
I’d like to thank you all once again for turning up and getting<br />
behind us today, and cheering us on in this showcase of<br />
northern rugby.<br />
All the best.<br />
DIMES<br />
STEVE DIAMOND - DIRECTOR OF RUGBY NOTES<br />
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