Last season
Despite finishing 11th, Newcastle Falcons were never really threatened by relegation, such was the ineptitude of London Welsh. They had some good results, including beating Exeter and Harlequins at Kingston Park, and picking up a clutch of losing bonus points in narrow losses to Saracens, Gloucester and Leicester.
Players In
• Chris Harris (Centre, promoted from Academy)
• Micky Young (Scrum-half, Bath Rugby)
• Mike Delany (Fly-half, Clermont Auvergne)
• Marcus Watson (Wing, England Sevens)
• Sonatane Takulua (Scrum-half, Northland)
• Simon Hammersley (Fullback, promoted from Academy)
• Ben Harris (Prop, Yorkshire Carnegie)
• Taione Vea (Prop, London Welsh)
• Jon Welsh (Prop, Glasgow Warriors)
• Nili Latu (Flanker, NEC Green Rockets)
• Giovanbattista Venditti (Wing, Zebre)
• Paddy Ryan (Prop, Libournes)
• Mouritz Botha (Lock, Sharks)
Newcastle’s most eye-catching signing this season is Marcus Watson, who has been lured from the England Sevens’ squad to rejoin the 15-a- side game. Blessed with searing pace and a sizzling sidestep, he is also brave in defence. Watson has been tipped to eventually join younger brother Anthony in the England squad, building on his previous caps at U18s and U20s level.
Mouritz Botha also joins the Falcons, adding necessary bulk to the second row which has previously been lacking. The former England lock is a shrewd signing and will replace some of the experience lost with the departures of Kieran Brookes and Mike Blair.
Players Out
• Kieran Brookes (Prop, Northampton Saints)
• Mike Blair (Scrum-half, Glasgow Warriors)
• Andy Saull (Flanker, Yorkshire Carnegie)
• Ben Morris (Flanker, Nottingham)
• Phil Godman (Fly-half, retired)
• Chris York (Back Row, Ealing Trailfinders)
• Danny Barnes (Wing/Centre, Ealing Trailfinders)
• Dominic Barrow (Lock, Leicester Tigers)
• Andy Davies (Scrum-half, Rotherham Titans)
• Mark Irving (Prop, Viadana)
• Rory Clegg (Fly-half, Glasgow Warriors)
• Lee Smith (Wing/Fullback, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats)
• Oliver Tomaszczyk (Prop, released)
• Noah Cato (Wing, released)
• Jamie Helleur (Centre, released)
• Warren Fury (Scrum-half, released)
• Sean Brown (Wing, released)
• James Christie (Scrum-half, released)
18 players left Newcastle at the end of last season. The long pre season therefore looks key for the Falcons, who will hope that their new squad gels before their opening game against Gloucester. They will be particularly disappointed at losing the rapidly improving prop Kieran Brookes, who has just been named in England’s World Cup squad.
Hopes and Fears for next season
The worst case scenario for Newcastle is relegation. They will face much stiffer competition for Premiership survival this season from Worcester Warriors, meaning that the bottom of the table should be a fascinating battle that is almost impossible to predict.
Ideally, next season will be a transitional one for the Falcons. If they secure their Premiership future and retain the nucleus of their side then they should be able to improve for future seasons.
Key Player
So good they named him twice, Sinoti Sinoti had an impressive 2014-15 season for the Falcons which was capped by being named in the Premiership dream team. The Falcons’ most potent counter attacking weapon made an astonishing 1641m last season; the most in the Premiership. He also topped the charts for defenders beaten, bamboozling 85 of them.
LWOS Prediction
Embroiled in a tight relegation battle. If their key players remain fit they should survive.
Main Photo
