Newcastle Falcons vs Saracens - Programme

a bit of prestige if you beat them, and Saracens would definitely
be one of those.
“They’ve been very good for a long time now and they’re looking
really good again this season. They hammered Leicester last
weekend and are probably smarting from losing the Premiership
final in June, but as we saw down at Worcester emotion can play
a massive part on the day.
“We beat Bristol but it’s only one game, and I’m sure Bristol will
be the first to say they didn’t play very well on the night. Things
clicked for us but it was only one win out of four games, and
Sarries will be a different challenge. It’s just how we adapt to
that and what consistency we can deliver that will determine the
outcome, but we’ve at least shown now that we can do it.
“Saracens kick the ball a lot and they’re very good at it, but they
seem to be playing a bit more this season. They’re efficient in
everything they do, and when they’re in the right areas they’ll play.
“For us, we’re probably still finding our own strengths a little bit,
and with the changes we’ve had on the coaching team I think
that’s understandable. Dave Walder has gone from doing the
attack to defence, Mark Laycock has gone from doing skills to
running the attack, and it takes time for them to imprint what
they want.
“I’d say we’ve got an ambitious style of play, allied to that
traditional North East grunt which people probably know us for.
We’ve always had a good maul, our scrum is getting there and it’s
not a bad balance. The thing like Dave said after the Bristol game
is to make it the norm rather than the exception, so that’s the big
challenge for us.
we’re just trying to create a good culture where people stay at the
club for a significant period of time rather than say getting the
best player from Consett, Northern or Ponteland, who will come
for a few weeks and then go back.
“It’s obviously a different level but I think it’s improved me as a
player, because you have a wider view about everything that’s
going on. Because it’s a lesser standard of rugby the intricacies
of everything we do at the Premiership level are highlighted. The
sessions have to encompass a lot more because you’ve only got
the players for a couple of hours each week if you’re lucky, and
you appreciate how talented the guys have to be to do what we’re
asking them to do at the Falcons.
“It’s interesting trying to re-draw some of the stuff we do here
and pass it on to the Blaydon guys in a simplified way, because
there’s just not the time to go into the detail that a professional
player would. You’ve also got guys who can’t always train because
they’re firemen, factory workers or whatever, and you have to
give a lot of thought to what you’re asking them to do.
“We also have some of the Falcons boys on dual-registration, with
Nathan Greenwood, Ewan Greenlaw, Micky Rewcastle, Ben Douglas
and Charlie Smith. They’re looked after well because everything is
captured on GPS in terms of how much work we’re putting into
them, and they’ve all been great in buying into the Blaydon ethos.
Sometimes you get players who think they might be above playing
at that level, but those boys have really bought into it.”
“There’s an obvious feelgood factor and a certain amount of
plaudits that comes with beating the top-of-the-league team on
national TV, but when we’re sat there on one win from four games
we can’t be thinking it’s job done. This is just the start for us.”
Away from Kingston Park, Stuart also has a burgeoning sideline
as a coach at Blaydon RFC, explaining: “I’ve been involved with
Blaydon for two and a half years, and this season I’ve taken over
as more of a head coach or director of rugby type role. It’s a lot
more than just a bit of coaching on a Tuesday or Thursday, but I’m
enjoying the challenge. Results haven’t really gone our way this
season and we’ve had to cope with a lot of injuries, but it’s a good
club to be involved with.
“We got promoted during the Covid season then the leagues
got restructured, which is good because it means less travel for
people. Ralph Appleby is our forwards coach, and obviously I’m
not at a lot of the games because of my commitments with the
Falcons. I have a lot of good help in terms of what I do there, and
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