The lists of ins and outs are as follows:

In

Luke Eves (Bristol)

Luke Fielden (Bedford)

James Fitzpatrick (Blaydon)

Joe Graham (Tynedale)

Jamie Hall (Coventry)

Ally Hogg (Edinburgh)

Jeremy Manning (Munster)

Redford Pennycook (Bristol)

Tim Ryan (Toulon)

Glen Townson (Doncaster)

Mark Wilson (Blaydon) 

Out

Adam Balding (Worcester)

Tom Biggs (Bath)

Pete Browne (Harlequins)

Spencer Davey

Carl Hayman (Toulon)

Chris Micklewood

Rob Miller (Sale)

Laurence Ovens

Mark Sorenson (Northampton)

Alex Walker We have lost a lot of experience including two undisputed top-drawer players in Hayman and Zorro, as well as Balding whose body never quite kept up with his heart at KP.  Then there is Biggs who undoubtedly has talent but couldn’t fit into Steve Bates’s gameplan, and a solid back-up player in Ovens.  Davey and Walker will not be missed by many fans, and it will be interesting to see how Browne and Miller get on at their new clubs as they certainly have a lot of potential. 

Of those coming in, I confess that I don’t know a great deal about many of them.  Ally Hogg is of course a 48-time Scottish international and will add some real quality to our back row if he recovers well from the hip surgery that ruled him out of the second half of last season.  Still only 27, he could be a very shrewd signing by Alan Tait. 

Of the others, Mark Wilson is probably one of the best-known to Falcons fans after three LW Friendly Cup appearances for the first team last season, which included a harsh yellow card at Worcester.  Luke Fielden returns to the club having been an impressive Sevens player and performing well for Bedford in the Championship.  A utility back with a fair bit of pace, he should fit in well alongside the likes of Charlie Amesbury and Danny Williams. 

Tim Ryan and Jeremy Manning both have European experience with Munster and, in the case of Ryan, Toulon for whom he turned out in the Amlin Cup Final.  Ryan will likely take Carl Hayman’s place in our front row, although it would be unfair to make comparisons as Hayman is all but irreplaceable.  Manning comes with a decent reputation and will provide back-up for his countryman Jimmy Gopperth at fly-half.  Manning is likely to be a key signing as we avoid the risk of going into the season with only young Tom Catterick as an option at 10 besides Gopperth. 

Bristol pair Luke Eves and Redford Pennycook both have strong reputations with our friends in the south-west, and though Eves’s arrival had been rumoured, Pennycook has come as something of a shock.  Rob Andrew once said that French players don’t settle in the UK and one might suspect Falcons coaches have thought the same about out-and-out opensides, but now we have one and though he will not be a Richie McCaw straight away or more likely ever, I am looking forward to seeing him play. 

Joe Graham, James Fitzpatrick and Jamie Hall make the step up from the lower leagues and too much should probably not be expected from these guys too soon, while little is known about former Sale lock Glen Townson, though initial reports suggest he performed well for Doncaster last season. 

Overall, if you consider that Wilson played for the first team last season, numerically our squad is the same.  There would seem to be a drop in overall quality and certainly experience though, which is something Tait will have to deal with as he tries to mould the squad into a team. 

However, the reality is that we are where we are and we have to be looking at potential more than seasoned internationals, of which we have signed only one.  From what I know and what I’ve read, I don’t think it’s been a bad summer’s business.

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