Walder backs local lads to be talk of the Toon
NEWCASTLE coach Dave Walder reckons in-form Falcons back rowers Will Welch and Mark Wilson can feel aggrieved after being overlooked by England.
Red Rose boss Eddie Jones ignored the Tyneside outfit when naming his latest 45-man squad but frustrated Walder vows the situation will change.
He said: “Mark and Will are solid performers who really deserve a look by England. It’s disappointing they were overlooked because they’re local lads who’ve come through strongly and I believe they could do a job.
“It would be great to see Newcastle represented on the international stage again, but the best way to ensure that is for us to do well.”
To that end, Walder believes Newcastle are ready to reprise the glory days of the Noughties by achieving a first top six finish in 15 years.
Jonny Wilkinson and Walder were in their youthful pomp the last time Falcons challenged at the upper end of the Premiership in 2001-02, but four-and-a-half years of careful nurturing under Dean Richards look set to reap dividends. Walder told The Rugby
Paper: “We haven’t achieved anything yet but we’ve got some momentum, we’re in touch with the top six and with the nature of this season’s league, we believe we’ve got a squad good enough to kick on.
“Bringing Champions Cup rugby to the North-east would be huge. Newcastle’s put in a bid to host the finals next season so it would be great to be part of, although we’re probably a couple of results away from where we deserve to be.” Newcastle’s improved attack is reminiscent of the rock’n’roll side featuring Walder that achieved Powergen Cup glory twice in 2001 and 2004 – and the public on Tyneside have been responding, with crowds up 20 per cent.
Walder explained: “Back then we were well known for being able to beat anyone on our day and we aligned ourselves with the football mindset of the era when Newcastle United always went out to outscore the opposition.
“I was brought up watching United when it was all about entertainment and you had Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddell, David Ginola, Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand and Tino Asprilla – guys who epitomised that attacking flair.
“I’m very conscious that people in the North-east want to see teams winning in the right style and I’d like to think we’re getting there again.
“We’re playing really ambitious rugby and we’re going toe-to-toe with top teams like Saracens, Leicester and Wasps. Our overall philosophy is very attack focused again and you can see the crowds starting to come back.”
Walder insists that international caps will follow, adding: “The other similarity between now and the side I played in is that there are a lot of academy lads in the team, which augurs well.
“We’ve had 13 or 14 home-grown lads playing over the last few weeks, which is similar to when we had myself, Jonny, Tom May, Jamie Noon, Phil Dowson and Mike Stephenson, all of whom went on to be capped by our country.”