The importance of Newcastle Falcons

For a bit of a mid-week blog I've decided to focus on the importance of Newcastle Falcons as an elite outfit in rugby union.

My background

Although I'm a Gloucester supporter and former season ticket holder who would do a seven hour round trip from my home in North Yorkshire to stand in The Shed and watch Gloucester, I have a soft spot for Newcastle Falcons.

I grew up playing my mini, junior and senior rugby till I stopped at twenty one at Darlington Rugby Club. I remember Falcons players attending the club when I was younger and even had the opportunity as a team to do a training session on the back pitches at Kingston Park with Michael Stephenson.

Supporting Gloucester, I've spent many a match at Kingston Park back to when there used to be temporary stands on the West Stand side of the pitch.

Having married a Geordie, I now live here and have done for over ten years.

Geography

The area that Falcons cover is massive geographically, they basically go into the Scottish borders, across to West Cumbria and into North Yorkshire including Teesside. This is a huge area with a focus on the region as a whole. It's a huge part of the country the club covers that would be lost to Premiership rugby if the club didn't exist.

The people

One thing that gets overlooked are the people that make the Falcons. For anyone who watched the pre-match on TNT Sports against Northampton, the sit down with Steve Diamond, Brett Connon and Mick Ward gave a glimpse. You can't help but have admiration for Micky Ward's passion for Falcons, come rain or shine he's out on that pitch pre-match in his shorts and t-shirt. But beyond that he cares for the club having been there player and coach and wants to see the good times return to the Falcons. Beyond Ward, there's a small but passionate and hard working group of staff. One example is Mark Smith the media man who produces great content in the digital programme every home game and also has his match report in bang on the full time whistle every week, no other team gets close to that. Mark's lived and breathed Falcons for a number of years and no doubt has some great stories travelling round with the team!

Whenever I've been to Kingston Park there's always a warm welcome from staff, volunteers and fans alike.

The talent base

I know this is rich in the week that Gloucester have signed Ben Redshaw from Newcastle for next season. But if Falcons can maintain their talent that starts to build more solid foundations. This is a club that has produced players from all over. If you look at some of these names Davey Wilson, Jamie Blamire, George McGuigan, Trevor Davison, Geoff Parling, Mark Wilson, Callum Chick, Will Welch, Guy Pepper, Phil Brantingham and Adam Radwan to name a few. That's before you throw in players like Alex Tait, Micky Young and James Fitzpatrick who I played with or against at Darlington, West Hartlepool and Westoe. Players with connections to the club game, there will be a lot more recently. The club and Falcons connection in the north east is hugely important.

The club connection

As I've touched on during my playing days at Darlington, the community connection is strong at Newcastle. If you've ever been on a match day they have local clubs as a guard of honour and mascots. On the pitch at half time they'll have local minis playing touch rugby and during the season they have tournaments for clubs prior to a Falcons game.

When I used to go to Kingsholm, I'd watch the players in my position warm up and see what they were doing as individuals before the team warm-up. You can learn so much watching these elite players up close.

Affordability

Falcons have the cheapest prices in the Premiership making rugby very accessible. You can watch on a game by game basis for less than £20 for an adult, that's excellent value to watch Premiership rugby.

In conclusion

I know I haven't even scratched the surface with the above but Falcons do have a place in Premiership rugby and with a bit of investment they can become really competitive. Unlike some other teams they're trying to be run sustainably and not spend what they don't have. If you're a Falcons fan, stick with it. In Steve Diamond you have a focal point and someone to get behind who gets the very best out of what he has, if your back's against the wall there's probably no one better in the game to have.

I hope Falcons can attract investment and start to grow and fly, it'd be a reward for the fans and the hard working people at the club.