Newcastle aim to put 'cat amongst pigeons' - Diamond

Steve Diamond joined Newcastle Falcons in January

Newcastle Falcons consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond is confident that their days of being the Premiership's whipping boys are over.

Newcastle propped up the division last season, losing every match and finishing a distant 27 points behind Gloucester.

But with a slimmed-down squad of 35 players, the former Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors director of rugby is expecting a change of fortune at Kingston Park.

"We won't win every game, but we will win games," he said. "I'm confident that we will put a cat amongst the pigeons in the league this season."

'The basics are there'

Newcastle's most recent victory in the competition was back in March 2023 against Gloucester, so that winless period will have stretched to 18 months by the time the new season begins next month with a match at home to Bristol Bears on 20 September.

However, Diamond believes that the Falcons have been suffering from a losing culture for the four years since they were promoted from the Championship.

In that period, they have lost 62 of their 84 Premiership games and never finished with more than two sides below them in the final table.

Diamond, who arrived at the club in January after Alex Codling stepped down, has been working hard on the squad's fitness during pre-season as he sees that as the bedrock for producing a side that is harder to play against.

"To be competitive in the competition, you've got to have a 90% lineout and scrum," he said.

"To be competitive, you've got to give away single-figure penalties. They've not had that for four years. To do that, you've got to be fit.

"Most penalties are given away at the maul or offside in midfield at a ruck - generally teams that aren't fit. The rest of it, the skill element, comes lastly for me.

"We will become a competitive team. When you're a good defensive team, most tries in top-class rugby are created from turnovers from a good defence, so the basics are there."

Newcastle are on a 21-game losing run in the Premiership

'Money not as important as good set of lads'

There has been plenty of pre-season bonding for the squad, with a recent weekend spent away at Galway races in Ireland and some camping planned on the Northumbrian coast.

It is all part of Diamond's plan to develop a close-knit group, led by long-standing homegrown players like England duo Callum Chick and Adam Radwan.

The 55-year-old wants the trek up north to Kingston Park to become one that teams dread once again.

And he is bullish enough to be setting the goals high for Newcastle.

"If I was a selfish individual, if we won one or two games I could say that was far better than last year," he said.

"I don't want to do that. I want to be challenging for Europe (a spot in the Champions Cup).

"In the 11 years at Sale, we qualified for Europe six years out of 11 in a similar belt - players that nobody rated, spending 60% of the salary cap.

"The solace I take is look at the Premier League in football - Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth - I don't hear them moaning about what Manchester United are spending and they continually beat United home and away.

"Money is important, but it's not as important as having a good set of lads and that's what we've got."