Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Programme

in my hands a bit more. He wants us to play a much more
attacking brand of rugby and says he’ll back us to the hilt. The
message he keeps saying is ‘if it’s on, it’s on’, which is music
to my ears. That’s been a big change but it’s been refreshing,
and all the boys have bought into it. I’m just excited for where
it can take us.”
Even the rainy grip of Storm Babet could not thwart Radwan’s
try-scoring tendencies last Friday - the winger putting social
media into meltdown with a solo score which gathered almost
a million views online.
“It was tough out there last Friday,” he says, having helped the
Falcons to a bonus point from their 18-14 reverse at home to
Gloucester. “The wind was swirling around in all directions and
you couldn’t read the flight of the ball, but in saying that I still
think we created enough opportunities to win the game. That’s
the frustrating part, and we as players have to take responsibility
for that.
“The loss at Bath, too, in the opening round was another frustrating
one. We had two yellow cards but played some really
good stuff, and should probably have had at least a bonus
point. I don’t feel like we’re far away from it all coming together,
but clearly our discipline is something we need to work on.
PLAYER INTERVEIW - ADAM RADWAN
around the game, but Radwan looks at it another way.
“Rugby’s had a really tough season with three clubs going bust,
and then Jersey at the start of the current season. That’s awful
to see and tragic for the people affected by it, but I also think
the Gallagher Premiership is an amazing product with loads
of things going for it. I understand some people are naturally
drawn towards the negative stuff and I don’t want to pretend it
hasn’t been hard, but I also feel like a lot of the good bits often
get ignored or played down.
“I love the brand of
rugby we’re aiming to
play.”
“Last season we saw more tries scored, more teams are
playing an exciting brand of rugby and the atmospheres in stadiums
is getting better, I think. Clubs are doing more and more
to try and make it a better experience when people physically
come to a game, and it’s not as if rugby was the only sport or
part of society which took a hit after everything that’s gone on
in the world over the past few years.”
Away from rugby Radwan’s pastimes are about as far from
rock n roll as it’s possible to get, and you’re more likely to find
him on a riverbank than in a nightclub.
“I used to go fly fishing when I was very young, and it was
Richard Palframan at the club who got me back into it around
three years ago,” he reveals.
“Palf persuaded me to go with him for the day and I just loved
it. Since then I’ve been hooked - pun intended! – and I go a
fair bit. I enjoy salmon fishing, which is really hard, but I’ve
managed to catch a few and it’s a nice switch-off from rugby.
Even when it’s not going so well and you don’t catch anything,
you’re still outdoors in beautiful countryside. You’ll see otters,
deer and stuff like that, and it’s mentally relaxing.
“A spot I love is around the North Tyne. That’s my favourite
stretch, and I caught my biggest ever salmon when I went
there for the first time this year. That was a big deal for me,
and it’s mad when you think these salmon come all the way
from the sea, swim under the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle and all
the way up the river. They’re just incredible.”
Resisting the urge to swim downstream from Kingston Park
in the summer, Radwan penned a three-year deal to remain
on Tyneside, confounding the doubters who choose to cast
shade rather than light onto the Premiership’s northern rugby
outpost.
“A lot of us were out of contract at the end of last season and
we felt like we could really push the club forward by commit
ting to it and being more competitive in winning things. I love
the club, and the brand of rugby that we’re aiming to play will
really suit me. I love the environment here, and we’ve always
been the underdogs – even when we finished in the top four
and made the Premiership semi-finals.
“It’s irrelevant, really, what other folk think. People are going to
have their opinions and it’s not important to us as players. We
know how much quality we’ve got in this group and what we’re
capable of, and the biggest thing for us is having that confidence
and belief. We understand it won’t happen overnight,
but it will happen, and we’ve got the people within our group to
make sure it does.
“Alex Codling has been great since coming in as head coach.
He’s been really positive, and he’s keen for me to get the ball
“Penalties and cards are costing us, and we’re our own worst
enemy. We’ve looked at it in our analysis and had a referee
come in this week to work with us, and we’re still creating
chances. It’s two games in and we’ve got plenty of opportunities
to put it right. We’re one or two passes away from scoring
a lot more tries, and at some stage in the near future it’s going
to click.”
Adamant that last season’s home loss to Northampton is not
a major part of their motivation, Radwan says: “It’s a different
season, so that result doesn’t really come into my thinking.
“Yeah, it was obviously a really disappointing night, but both
squads have changed a lot since then. We’ve got a load of new
coaches and players, and the end of last season was tough
for our squad because there was a lot going on. That’s not an
excuse for what was a bad score-line, but I just don’t think it’s
relevant this weekend. There’s a lot of motivation anyway for
Sunday from our side, and we’ve just parked last season rather
than using it to fuel the fire.
“I say all that, and I truly mean it – but maybe, yeah, in the back
of my mind we owe them one!”
PLAYER INTERVEIW - ADAM RADWAN
14
15