Olmstead back to help Falcons fight the drop
HAVING been part of Newcastle’s best-performing Premiership team for two decades last season, ‘new’ signing Evan Olmstead returns to find the club in an altogether different situation.
After lifting the Mitre 10 Cup with Auckland and playing a starring role in helping Canada qualify for the World Cup, Olmstead has re-joined the Falcons in the midst of a relegation battle, and one they will do well to win.
Dean Richards’ side are cut nine points adrift at the foot of the league with only eight games to go. It is getting to the now-or-never stage for last season’s league and European semifinalists, especially with relegation rivals Worcester in town today.
“There is a different vibe about the place, with the situation we are in. No-one is blind or stupid, everyone knows where we are,” said Olmstead, who made 28 appearances for the Falcons in his first spell at the club.
“Dean sat us down and we had a little chat about the run-in, and the run-in is quite good. We’ve got a lot of home games and opportunities to win, and basically if we perform like we know we can perform, then we’ll be okay.
“The Premiership is a tough competition, it is ruthless. There’s good players everywhere so if you don’t do your job to 100 per cent of what’s required, that’s the difference between winning or a close loss.”
Looking at the Premiership table, Newcastle may need a record number of league points to survive. Quins’ tally of 38 in 2005 is currently the highest of any relegated team since bonus points were introduced for the 2000/01 season.
“I haven’t really looked too much into that, previous seasons are previous seasons,” added Olmstead.
“What happened last season and the season before is that there seemed to be a clear last-place team pretty early in the season. But there isn’t a London Welsh being handily beaten every week this time.
Everyone is competitive so it does make for an interesting league table,” he added.
Olmstead’s arrival could be just what Newcastle need while they’re at such a low ebb. In addition to his abrasiveness around the park and lineout expertise, Olmstead’s positive outlook on life and rugby can only lift he fog on the Tyne.
The Vancouver-born, 27cap international also has recent experience of knockout rugby, which is effectively where Newcastle find themselves at the moment, from his World Cup qualification adventure with Canada.
Defeats to USA and Uruguay in the Americas qualifiers left Canada in danger of missing out on the World Cup for the first time, but they came through three fraught weeks at the repechage tournament in Marseilles in November to book the 20th and final ticket to Japan.
“There are definite similarities,” the 28-year-old said. “In that repechage, every game counted, and we never got ahead of ourselves.
“We dealt with Kenya first and then we dealt with Germany and then we dealt with Hong Kong. It was one game at a time, and that’s the approach we have to take at Newcastle.
“The pressure is on us, there’s no denying it, but you’ve still got to be able to keep cool and perform. Last year the pressure on us was trying to win finals, this year the pressure is trying to get out of the relegation battle.”
Five points against the Warriors would be a great start.
Olmstead said: “Michael Fatialofa, below left, one of my good mates, is over there now so I kind of know what to expect from him, and from my previous experience in the Premiership it doesn’t look like too much has changed at Worcester, they still have big boys who carry hard and they love a set piece.
“Francois Hougaard is a threat as well so it’ll be a tough game, but one we can win.”
Scotland flanker Gary Graham and Samoan prop Logovi’i Mulipola return to Falcons lineup.
Warriors are unchanged for the first time this season, with wing Josh Adams rested after sustaining several knocks against England in Cardiff last Saturday.