By Mally (15/07/03)
July 15 2003

Newcastle Falcons yesterday confirmed Alex Cadwallader as their third new signing for the 2003/4 season, alongside Garath Archer (Bristol Shoguns) & Ben Gollings (NEC Harlequins).

Alex, a former Newport player, is an ex- England U21 and a product of the Bristol academy. Cadwallader will take his place in the Falcons 29 man senior squad, and will be looking to secure a first team place on the wing.

Retained Players

Much to the relief of the fans the club have also confirmed that they have retained the services of several established Falcons players as well as signing Mark Mayerhofler for another season.

With Jonny Wilkinson, Jamie Noon, Tom May, Michael Stephenson, Mark Mayerhofler, Dave Walder, Hall Charlton, Andrew Mower, Micky Ward, Marius Hurter, Hugh Vyvyan, Ian Peel, Phil Dowson and John Dunbar all having signed new contracts with the club next season's side is shaping up nicely - especially if you factor in Mark Andrews and Warren Britz, who joined the club part way through last season.

Rob's thoughts

Newcastle Falcons' Director of Rugby, Rob Andrew is upbeat about the club's prospects in 2003/4 - apparently he has already been quoted in the press as saying Falcons can win the championship and is confident Falcons will do well.

"Last season was a real rollercoaster ride for the Newcastle Falcons. We started the season poorly and had to work hard to finish the season on a high having secured Premiership status."

"During the summer we have refocused our thoughts and brought in Alex, Garath and Ben to further strengthen the team. We are looking forward to the challenges ahead of us and are confident of a much improved season in 2003-2004."

But is it enough?

Obviously with only 29 players in the senior squad injuries are always going to be a concern. Injuries, particularly in the backs, more than anything else did the the damage last year, losing Dave Walder for vitually the entire season seriously disrupted the backs, Dave Richardson was also out injured, so when Jonny Wilkinson was out for 10 weeks it became a game of "Guess The Flyhalf?" and as Rob Andrew tried Phil Godman, Mark Andrews and even Mark Wilkinson out in the position.

Hopefully this season injury will not play such a devastating role in Falcons' fortunes, funnily enough the damage may be done by some of players being just a little too good!

Can we cope during the World Cup?

If we were having this discussion just a couple of months ago themn Falcons would not look to have a problem with World Cup cover. Garath Archer and Mark Andrews will be possibly the most formidable second row in the Premiership, and with Craig Hamilton in support, then Stuart Grimes may just have a fight on his hands when he returns from Scotland duty.

It is a similar story in the back row with Andrew Mower & possibly Hugh Vyvyan away at the World Cup, but Falcons have Warren Britz to call upon, as well as Epi Taione (the rumour is he is not going to the World Cup), Jon Dunbar and Phil Dowson and should be able to cover 6, 7 and 8, without too many problems.

The problem position is likely to be the flyhalf spot - Jonny Wilkinson is as close as it comes to being a dead cert for the England squad. Dave Walder, his usual Falcons back up, has been pushing hard for a World Cup squad place, having won praise during the recent England A tour. While Phil Godman will hopefully successfully step into the breach, unsurprisingly some Falcons fans have said that they would rather see Walder at Kingston Park next season than warming a bench in Australia.

Looking Forward

Pre-season training began on the 1st July for those squad members not on international duty. Newcastle Falcons' pre-season fixtures have already been confirmed and include, the Middlesex Sevens (16th August) and away friendlies against Glasgow Warriors (22nd August) and Llanelli (29th August).

New kick off time

Newcastle Falcons have 2 back to back home games to kick off the 2003/4 season the first against Saracens on Sunday 14th September, followed by Sale Sharks on Sunday 21st September. Both are at the new slightly later kick off time of 3pm.

Development Team

Newcastle Falcons have confirmed that they will be running a Development Team next season, not the U21 team. This is in line with new Premier Rugby Policy and will be part of the Newcastle Falcons England Rugby Academy.

Several of Falcons' future stars, David Wilson (England U19), Geoff Parling (England U21), Ben Woods (England U21), Mark Rennie (Scotland U21) and Shaun Richardson will be included in the side.

The new development side's home matches will usually be held on a Monday evening.

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