Newcastle Falcons

For Australian basketball team, see Newcastle Falcons (basketball).

Newcastle Falcons

Full name	Newcastle Falcons
Union	Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)	the Falcons
Founded	1877
Location	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Ground(s)	Kingston Park (Capacity: 10,200)
Chairman	Dave Thompson
Coach(es)	Alan Tait
Captain(s)	James Hudson
League(s)	Aviva Premiership
2010–11	11th
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.newcastle-falcons.co.uk

The Newcastle Falcons (formerly Gosforth FC/Newcastle Gosforth until 1996) is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne. At the start of the professional era the club adopted its current name of Newcastle Falcons.

The Falcons have been the biggest and most successful club in northern England, with one Premiership and four domestic cups to their name. They also boast a number of home-grown former players such as World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson.

History

The original Gosforth Football Club was founded in 1877 by a group of Old Boys of Durham School, in whose colours of green and white hoops the club played until the mid-1990s. The name Gosforth came from one of the suburbs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1955, the club moved to a new ground at North Road which was to be its home until 1990. During that time and particularly in the late 1970s Gosforth enjoyed tremendous success both on and off the field winning the John Player Cup in seasons 1975/76 and 76/77.

Gosforth supplied innumerable players to all counties over the years, to the North of England sides and to the full international and British Lions teams. These include Arthur Smith, Ray McLoughlin, Malcolm Young, Roger Uttley, Peter Dixon, Duncan Madsen, Dave Robinson, Richard Breakey, Jim Pollock and Colin White.

In 1990 the club name was changed to Newcastle Gosforth and they moved to Kingston Park. Gosforth Rugby Football Club continued as an amateur side working in partnership with Northumbria University. They currently play at the training ground of the Newcastle Falcons, Druid Park.

For the 1996/7 season the new name of Newcastle Falcons and the current black-and-white colours were adopted, after local businessman Sir John Hall had taken control and attempted to create a sporting club in Newcastle that would emulate the success of the Barcelona model. The four teams that made up the sporting club were the football team, nicknamed the Magpies, the Newcastle Eagles basketball team, the Newcastle Wasps (later Riverkings, Jokers, Vipers) ice hockey team and the Newcastle Falcons rugby union team.

Newcastle was the first fully "professional" club in the world. In 1995, Sir John Hall installed former Wasps’ captain, Rob Andrew, as his salaried Director of Rugby and saw the club earn promotion from the national Second Division to the Premiership. The following season, Newcastle became English champions at their first attempt. The following season Newcastle didn't play in Europe as English teams did not take part but they did go onto the Tetley's Bitter Cup final against Wasps which they lost 29-19.

Hall sold the Falcons for a 'nominal' sum in 1999 to current owner Dave Thompson and since then Newcastle have won two Powergen Cups: in 2001 the Falcons beat Harlequins F.C. 30-27; and 2004 the Falcons beat 37-33 against Sale Sharks. The following season the Falcons recorded their best ever Heineken Cup performance by winning their pool and progressing to a quarter-final tie against Stade Francais in the Parc des Princes.

In August 2005 Falcons toured Japan pre-season. They beat NEC Green Rockets easily but lost to a fired-up Toyota Verblitz.

In August 2006 Rob Andrew left the Falcons to be in overall charge of the England set-up ahead of the 2007 World Cup in a wide-ranging role that encompasses all aspects of the professional representative game in England. John Fletcher succeeded Rob Andrew as director of rugby at Newcastle Falcons with immediate effect. Fletcher, a former England A centre, had been the club's academy boss and he headed up a team of Peter Walton, Steve Black and Bob Morton, with ex-Falcons prop Ian Peel taking over as acting academy manager.

2007–08 season

On 11 March 2008, Fletcher and Walton left the club, officially by mutual consent, following Black who had left a couple of months earlier. Steve Bates took over as interim Director of Rugby until the summer of 2008 when the post was reviewed. Dave Thompson stated that nine years of underachievement were the reason for the departure of John Fletcher and Peter Walton.

Having said this, Bates guided the Falcons to a record-equalling run of seven consecutive Premiership defeats by April 2008 with home games against Leicester Tigers and London Wasps plus a season-concluding away trip to Worcester Warriors yet to come. Defeat in the ECC semi-final against Worcester Warriors on 25 April 2008 may well have sounded the death knell for Steve Bates' tenure as interim DoR. However, on Tuesday 20 May 2008 Steve Bates was confirmed as Newcastle's Director of Rugby on a full-time basis.

2008–09 season

In November 2008 Chairman Dave Thompson put an end to speculation of a takeover of the club after rejecting 3 bids. He held talks with a number of different consortia and reportedly turned down one offer of a full take over as the bidding consortium wanted to relocate the club to Darlington. Furthermore, he said the speculation had led to instability in the club which was unsettling players and fans alike. On the pitch the Falcons reached another European Challenge Cup Quarter-Final going down to Saracens away from home and finished 10th in the Premiership.

2009–10 season

After a disappointing season the pressure mounted on Steve Bates and on 4 May 2010, the club announced that Bates' contract had been terminated and he was being replaced by first team coach Alan Tait. The decision came after Newcastle went on an unbeaten run to quash any doubts of relegation largely due to an inspirational Carl Hayman. But a crushing home European Challenge Cup Quarter Final defeat by Cardiff Blues signaled the end of the Bates era.

2010–11 season

Towards the end of the previous season Chairman Dave Thompson had to seek investment for the club due to increasing debts after the Nationalisation of Northern Rock - the clubs main sponsor. After months of speculation, it was announced that local businessman Semore Kurdi had purchased a 40% stake in the club in September 2010, easing the clubs financial difficulties. On the pitch in Alan Tait's first season the Falcons reached the Anglo-Welsh Cup final, losing to Gloucester 34-7. Despite this relative success the Falcons finished their worst ever Premiership season with just 23 points (4 wins), only escaping relegation thanks to the inferior points difference of Leeds Carnegie.

Club information

Kingston Park

Stadium

Newcastle Falcons play at Kingston Park which holds 10,200. Kingston Park is the smallest stadium in the Aviva Premiership even so the attendance has been in steady decline in recent years with an average crowd of 4,500. This is mainly due to the fact the Falcons have been fighting relegation and have sold many of their main stars, at the teams peak, the ground attracted sell outs frequently. Traditionally the South Stand is where the loudest fans stand and sing. The stadium has three modern stands - 1 open air standing, 1 enclosed standing and a main stand which is all-seater - but kept the original Gosforth stand with the green and white seating (Gosforth colours).

Kits

Gosforth Rugby Strip.

The team wears a black strip with a grey lining for home games and from the 2011-2012 season will wear a light blue strip for away games. Cotton Traders are the current strip providers. Previously, in the 2007/2008 season the Falcons were the only club in the UK to wear a kit designed by Nike, prior to this the strip providers were KooGa. During the years known as Gosforth the team played in green and white hoops.

Historic League Positions

Season	Final Position	Points
1997–1998 – Allied Dunbar Premiership	1st	38
1998–1999 – Allied Dunbar Premiership	8th	28
1999–2000 – Allied Dunbar Premiership	9th	20
2000–2001 – Zurich Premiership	6th	57
2001–2002 – Zurich Premiership	6th	56
2002–2003 – Zurich Premiership	10th	40
2003–2004 – Zurich Premiership	10th	40
2004–2005 – Zurich Premiership	7th	47
2005–2006 – Guinness Premiership	7th	47
2006–2007 – Guinness Premiership	9th	44
2007–2008 – Guinness Premiership	11th	37
2008–2009 – Guinness Premiership	10th	44
2009–2010 – Guinness Premiership	9th	37
2010–2011 – Aviva Premiership	11th	23

Club honours

• Premiership (1): 1997–98
• Division Two (1): 1992–93
• National Cup (4): 1976, 1977, 2001, 2004
• Middlesex 7s (1): 2007
• Premiership Rugby Sevens Series (1): 2011
• Heineken Cup: Quarter-Final Stage
• European Challenge Cup: Final

Records

• Record Win: 156 – 5 vs Rugby Lions (Courage League 1996)
• Record Loss: 10 – 83 vs Leicester Tigers (2005)
• Best League Position: 1st (1997–1998)
• Worst League Position: 11th (2007–2008, 2010-2011)
• Most Premiership Appearances: Tom May - 193
• Top Premiership Try Scorer: Tom May - 47
• Top Premiership Points Scorer: Jonny Wilkinson - 1489

Current standings

English Premiership Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Harlequins	17	13	1	3	398	294	+104	40	25	3	1	58
2	Saracens	17	12	1	4	348	273	+75	24	22	1	3	54
3	Leicester Tigers	17	10	1	6	457	373	+84	48	37	5	3	50
4	Northampton Saints	17	10	0	7	400	289	+111	36	23	3	4	47
5	Exeter Chiefs	17	9	0	8	322	299	+23	25	26	2	7	45
6	Gloucester Rugby	17	8	1	8	348	348	+0	32	32	1	6	41
7	Sale Sharks	17	8	0	9	375	419	-44	35	37	2	6	40
8	Bath Rugby	17	8	0	9	324	316	+8	29	22	2	5	39
9	London Irish	17	6	1	10	375	395	-20	32	32	2	8	36
10	Worcester Warriors	17	6	1	10	234	298	-64	15	27	0	5	31
11	London Wasps	17	5	0	12	283	382	-99	25	29	1	6	27
12	Newcastle Falcons	17	3	2	12	274	452	-178	21	50	0	3	19
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places, and receive berths in the 2012–13 Heineken Cup. Blue background (rows 5 and 6) are clubs that do not make the play-offs, but will receive Heineken Cup berths. Red background (row 12) to be relegated if the champion of the RFU Championship meets the requirements for promotion. Updated 5 March 2012 — Current English Leagues source:Premiership Rugby Notes:

Current squad 2011/2012

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.

Player Position Union Joe Graham Hooker England George McGuigan Hooker Ireland Matt Thompson Hooker England Rob Vickers Hooker England Darren Fearn Prop England Dan Frazier Prop England Jon Golding Prop England James Hall Prop England Euan Murray Prop Scotland Grant Shiells Prop Scotland Ashley Wells Prop South Africa Josh Beaumont Lock England Richard Boyle Lock England James Hudson (c) Lock England Tim Swinson Lock England Andrew van der Heijden Lock New Zealand Ally Hogg Flanker Scotland Joe Robinson Flanker England Taiasina Tuifua Flanker Samoa Will Welch Flanker England Mark Wilson Flanker England Adriaan Fondse Number 8 South Africa Richard Mayhew Number 8 New Zealand

Player Position Union Will Chudley Scrum-half England Jordi Pasqualin Scrum-half England Chris Pilgrim Scrum-half England Jimmy Gopperth Fly-half New Zealand Joel Hodgson Fly-half England Jeremy Manning Fly-half New Zealand James Fitzpatrick Centre England Jamie Helleur Centre Samoa Suka Hufanga Centre Tonga Corne Uys Centre South Africa Ryan Shortland Centre New Zealand Luke Fielden Wing England Rikki Sheriffe Wing England Alex Tait Wing England Michael Tait Wing Scotland Tom Catterick Fullback England Greg Goosen Fullback South Africa

Internationally Capped Players

• Jamie Helleur
• Taiasina Tuifua
• Allister Hogg
• Euan Murray
• Suka Hufanga

Transfers 2011/2012

Players In

• Richard Boyle (from Tynedale)
• Will Chudley (from Bedford Blues)
• Dan Frazier (from Doncaster Knights)
• Jordi Pasqualin (from Gloucester)
• Joe Robinson (from Tynedale)
• Rikki Sheriffe
• Richard Mayhew (from Esher)
• Ryan Shortland (from Otago)
• Jamie Helleur (from Auckland)
• Taiasina Tu'ifua (from Counties Manukau)
• Adriaan Fondse (from Western Province)
• Greg Goosen (from La Rochelle)
• Ashley Wells (from Griquas)
• Suka Hufanga (from Malemort)

Players Out

• Charlie Amesbury (to Sale Sharks)
• Kieran Brookes (to Leicester Tigers)
• Hall Charlton (to Blaydon, Player-coach)
• Alex Gray (to London Irish)
• Rob Vickerman (to England Sevens)
• Micky Ward (to Blaydon, DOR-coach and Falcons scrum coach)
• Danny Williams (to Salford City Reds)
• Ed Williamson (to Leeds Carnegie)
• Micky Young (to Leicester Tigers)
• Tim Ryan (to Cavalieri Prato)
• Tane Tu'ipulotu (to Yamaha Júbilo)
• Brent Wilson (to Nottingham)
• Filipo Levi (to Nottingham)
• Andrew Henderson (to GHA)
• Gcobani Bobo
• Josh Afu (to Carcassonne)
• Glen Townson (to Bristol Rugby) (Loan)
• Luke Eves (to Bristol Rugby) (Loan)
• Redford Pennycook (to Bristol Rugby)

Current Coaching Staff

• Director of Rugby: Gary Gold
• Assistant Coach: Paul Moriarty
• Defence Coach: Mike Ford
• Forwards Coach: John Wells
• Skill Coach: Calum MacRae
• Head of Strength & Conditioning Coach: Andy Smith
• Strength & Conditioning Intern: Patrick Evans
• Team Manager: John Stokoe
• Academy Manager: Richard Arnold

Notable former players

Matthew Burke Owen Finegan Rob Andrew Garath Archer John Bentley Phil Dowson Toby Flood Jamie Noon Andy Perry Dean Ryan Michael Stephenson Tim Stimpson Tony Underwood Mathew Tait Dave Walder

Colin White Jonny Wilkinson Mark Wilkinson Malcolm Young Mike McCarthy Ross Nesdale Nick Popplewell Carl Hayman Loki Crichton Pat Lam Semo Sititi Va'aiga Tuigamala Gary Armstrong Richard Breakey Steve Brotherstone

George Graham Stuart Grimes Craig Hamilton John Leslie Duncan Madsen Jim Pollock Arthur Smith Alan Tait Peter Walton Doddie Weir Andrew Mower Epi Taione Colin Charvis

External links

• Official Site
• Official Picture Site