by Alex Codling questioned Newcastle’s strategic future after the club suffered an eighth straight league defeat.
Newcastle have played eight, lost eight in the Premier League so far this season, with their latest defeat following a 47-3 drubbing of Leicester on Sunday keeping them stuck at the bottom of the table.
While Newcastle head coach Codling insisted after the Welford Road defeat that the spirit and work ethic of his players could not be questioned, he expressed concern about the make-up of the squad he inherited.
“I will never criticize the players for their spirit and each other,” said Codling, 50, who is in his first season at Northeastern. “It’s a tough watch and after 25 minutes we’re in a very difficult position. It is tough. I have never been in this position before. I hate to lose. I take it more personally than anyone.
“Newcastle have decisions to make in the future about the strategy, because there are really talented young people there – but in the short term it makes life difficult. Those are the bare facts of it. I can’t dress up any other way – but I can’t criticize the players.
“I only work week to week at the moment; I work 100 hours a week. This is a huge challenge, my job now is to try to raise the spirit again. As painful as it is in the short term, there are really talented young people for the club in the long term. Our challenge is that we don’t have the experience around them to let them in.
“You dust and go again. It’s like a boxer, there’s only so many punches you can take, but you keep taking them and hopefully at some point you’ll get a knockout.”
Asked if he was in discussions with Newcastle executives about future strategy, Codling said he was “paid as a coach”.
“I have a lot of respect for the club, they’ve had to make tough decisions financially but, at the end of the day, it’s very difficult when you’re coming up against full-stack teams every week,” said he. “The difference this year is that there is the opportunity to come up against teams during international periods as they rotate now and, while that’s good for rugby, we’re coming up against teams that are completely every week now and it makes life harder. In the short term it’s painful, in the long term I hope it’s good for the club.”
Leicester have turned the corner – and Anthony Watson should be back soon
Leicester Tigers 47 Newcastle Falcons 3
The whisper before the game was that the curtain had been drawn on Leicester’s early season blip and the evidence, Newcastle’s demolition with a bonus point, confirmed it.
The opposition, admittedly, were the winless Falcons, brave but overpowered in every area and remain rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table, but that’s three league wins on the trot for Dan McKellar’s Tigers, who got their bonus four effort. before half-time – the perfect headwind to blow them into Europe next weekend.
And, when Anthony Watson came into the pre-match pre-match – perhaps, because of the Baltic conditions as much as anything – the feel-good factor has returned to Welford Road. The England winger, who has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a calf injury, is nearing a return to Leicester, a boost for Steve Borthwick with the Six Nations around the corner.
“Anthony should be available for selection next week,” McKellar said. “This period has been really good for him, which has enabled him to get his body in the best shape it’s ever been in. The rehabilitation coaches have done a great job with him; and he is very diligent, the ultimate professional. He’s able to come back and perform – which is exciting.”
Given the features, the foundation for Leicester’s victory was always going to be laid by the Tigers’ gritty pack; it was not a day for glitz and glamour. The mock defence, especially in the first half, was superb; so too the offense – three of seven tries coming from that domain. Julian Montoya, captain and Puma, was very successful at the hook and hat-trick hero Tommy Reffell – shades of Neil Back, with his scoring escapes – and Jasper Wiese were scared by Newcastle’s break and solid defense from the back. Dan Kelly, too, showed much more of the form that has seen him stuck as England’s inside center in waiting, dropping relentlessly into the heart of Newcastle’s midfield – not helped by his solidity when pulled back England fly under-20 late. – half Louie Johnson in the warm-up.
“What I liked about that performance was that it had Leicester Tigers written all over it,” McKellar said. “Our DNA through and through. That’s really fun.”
As for Reffell, he said: “Since he came back from the World Cup, he has been excellent and is challenging himself to be one of the best sevens in the world. If he continues to make progress, there’s no doubt he’s likely to achieve that.”
The Falcons gave him a good lash for the opening 10 minutes, Brett Connon opening the scoring from the heat, but as soon as Reffell managed to find a place for Leicester’s opener, the Newcastle dam burst. The Falcons’ conviction cannot be doubted but the sad, inescapable truth is that their squad – even when injury-free – is a class below the rest of the league. Falcons head coach Alex Codling admitted as much after the game.
From Reffell’s opening, pressure on the Tigers Newcastle merciless, and the hosts ’23 points ahead at half-time came from four visits to Newcastle 22; each time, a try was scored. Reffell added the second with a blinding move and center Matt Scott picked a peach of a line from Ben Youngs to leave ex-Tiger Matias Moroni scowling. Wiese curled over from close range to cap the half.
“We always lead the first 10, 15 minutes,” Codling said. “That pressure is being converted into points and when you don’t do that it’s very difficult to get momentum back. I will never criticize the players for their spirit and each other. It’s a tough watch and after 25 minutes we’re in a very difficult position.”
Soon after the break, Reffell added a third, from a maul goal and the game was over as a contest. As well as Newcastle, captain Pedro Rubiolo sent to the bin for a daring tackle on Jasper Wiese. Ollie Hassell-Collins did well to hold on to Solomone Kata’s die to add Leicester’s sixth soon after, with Mike Brown adding a seventh at the death. A nod, too, to referee Sara Cox, who was impeccable – even though it was a one-sided contest.
The win takes the Tigers above Bristol into seventh place, just five points off play-off contention. After the early season struggles, the corner has been turned. Now, the challenge shifts to Europe; and continuing the momentum.
