Diamond determined to keep fighting the good fight as Falcons aim to 'stay in touch'
Steve Diamond's Newcastle Falcons are without a Premiership win since March 2023
©Chris Lishman, Newcastle Falcons
A fixture which held so much promise quickly turned into the latest evening to forget for Newcastle Falcons.
Last Friday, there was a buoyancy about boss Steve Diamond as Newcastle went in search of that elusive Premiership victory against Sale Sharks.
But after just 21 minutes in Salford, two Arron Reed tries indicated it would be another difficult outing for Diamond’s troops.
Sale’s 43-10 victory condemned the Falcons to a 25th successive Premiership defeat and once again raised questions about the legitimacy of their status in the division.
Newcastle last won a match in the competition in March 2023 and look likely to finish bottom of the pile this term.
However, whether the Falcons will face a relegation play-off is still up for debate after it was revealed that aspiring Championship clubs must outline detailed proposals for life in the Premiership by January 2025.
Included in this is gaining planning permission for a stadium expansion but, as reported by The Telegraph, Championship clubs believe getting plans such as this in place by January is an extremely tall order.
The Telegraph report also stated that only Doncaster Knights, who currently sit ninth in the Championship, are eligible to go up under the Premiership’s requirements so if Newcastle were to finish bottom, they may escape any sort of relegation play-off.
But Diamond expects there to be a play-off and is determined for his side not to be involved.
He said: “There is a point why we are in the league, and as we are all aware, there is a relegation and promotion situation, and if we are in that, we will go through that with as much gusto as we have.
“We have been a Premiership side for 30 years, and on a couple of occasions, we have dropped into the Championship and come straight back up.
“There is a hell of a battle to be done through this season and at the end of the season if we are in the play-offs.
Achieving a win would be the first step on the road to ensuring that the former Premiership champions avoid a potential drop down to the Championship and welcoming second-from-bottom Exeter Chiefs to Kingston Park provides their next opportunity to do this.
Diamond said: “We have got to stay in touch with the teams around the bottom. Ourselves and Exeter are there, Gloucester have played pretty well, and they are midtable.
“We have got to stay in an arm wrestle with somebody, and at the minute it is looking like Gloucester or Exeter.
“They [Exeter] have got a plethora of moves, so there is no point trying to predict how they are going to play. We will just try to make sure our defence is as tight as it can be around the rucks and match them physically. We stand a chance.
“And there is more pressure on them than us because they have come from such a prestigious, hard-working background over the last 10 years winning a Champions Cup.”
However, despite a few players returning for potential selection on Friday, including Connor Doherty and Irish international Sammy Arnold, the Falcons continue to be hamstrung by injuries.
Both fly-halves, Brett Connon and Kieran Wilkinson, remain injured while the likes of Eduardo Bello, Cameron Neild and Sebastian de Chaves are yet to feature this term but Diamond is not using injuries as an excuse for the poor start to the season.
He said: “I don’t think we are where we wanted to be if I am honest. I thought we would have four points by now, and the biggest disappointment is not being in the fight really.
“Injuries are part and parcel. The game has gotten brutal, it is going to happen. It is an occupational hazard. The people who get injured get injured in the game, not at training.
“Losing those two 10s [Connon + Wilkinson] was a little bit of a blow, but there are not too many players knocking about in September, to be fair either.
“But every team will be pulling injuries. You see the injuries that happened last week in various other games, it is a brutal game and I don’t think people understand how brutal this game is.”
Due to Connon and Wilkinson being sidelined, Newcastle recruited Ethan Grayson - who is more of a centre - to cover the lack of options at fly-half and Diamond has not ruled out going into the market again if it is required.
However, that will only happen if there are no suitable replacements within the entire Falcons setup, with trust being placed in the academy.
He said: “If we take an injury to a player where we do not have a reserve, then we will go into the marketplace but equally, the hawks are picking on us at the moment.
“I’m getting several phone calls this week about this player and him being bought off us, or another player, and once I tell them how much I want, they seem to go very quiet on the phone.
“It is business, isn’t it? We would all do the same if we had the resources to do that, and I am amazed where some of the clubs get the money from. You think they would be capped up.”
Diamond's amazement coincides with his determination to make Newcastle a self-sustaining club, ensuring that it does not face the same fate as the three Premiership sides that went out of business over the last two seasons.
Worcester Warriors, London Irish, and Wasps have all once again expressed their interest in joining the English rugby family and have reportedly applied to join the expanding Championship ‘Tier Two’ for next season as it moves from 12 to 14 clubs.
Diamond added: “I think it is positive. I think the Championship would be brilliant with three massive, historical clubs as long as the criteria of going into administration is adhered to.
“If that isn’t adhered to, and I am sure it will be because there is no way back unless that is the case, then why should they not be able to challenge?
“If they fulfil their insolvency requirements, which the administrator says and the governing body says, then they should be welcomed back.”
With the potential return of these three sides to English rugby, a competitive Newcastle would also help improve the Premiership product and they will be desperate to demonstrate their value to the competition against Exeter Chiefs on Friday.
