Face to Face: Rob Andrew

Apr 26 2005 By John Gibson, The Evening Chronicle

Rob Andrew rocked back in his chair, mulling over the question like you would linger upon a good wine.

He's a thinker and prefers to weigh up his options rather than produce a knee-jerk reaction.

Andrew is completing his 10th season in charge of Newcastle Falcons - a longer stint than any other coach in the Premier League of professional rugby. And his full-time report deserves careful consideration.

Precisely where are the Falcons after a decade of blood, sweat and fears? Lashings of all, it must be said.

"Yeah," he said eventually, nodding his head. "We've made progress but we're not where we want to be in every aspect on or off the park.

"I'm an optimist and I'm also relentless in pursuit of what we require. I'm honestly as excited today as I was the first time I came and met Sir John Hall.

"We're on to our third team now and we're much more of a cup side than a league side. The type of player we've got and the way we play is no accident. We've deliberately tried to develop a style to entertain people.

"That's why our two cup triumphs at Twickenham have been so exciting, so entertaining.

"We're an edge-of-the-seat team and it's naturally spilled over into our league season with a number of grandstand finishes at Kingston Park.

"There's no doubt it can be frustrating for our fans but equally we're the most entertaining team in the Premiership.

"Of course we want to be winners - we want to win every game. But we also feel it is important that we play the brand of rugby for which we've become renowned. We look at a certain type when it comes to player recruitment.

"On our day we are a match for anyone - but whether we can maintain that week in, week out as part of a league season is quite another matter."

Since Andrew walked into Kingston Park at the dawn of professional rugby, the Falcons have won one championship and appeared in three Twickenham cup finals, winning two of them spectacularly.

This season has been one of extremes - great highs and depressing lows. Andrew is the first to admit that.

"Until Christmas we were as close as it is possible to get to being an outstanding side," said Rob.

"We were fourth in the league and in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. Outside of blips against Leicester and Wasps we were the form team.

"Then inside a month we lost Jonny Wilkinson, Colin Charvis and Matt Burke - three world-class players, probably our best.

"And Jamie Noon and Stuart Grimes were sacrificed to the international season. Our side was ripped to bits.

"The last two months have been a huge disappointment, a struggle for everyone, but the players have stuck at it and never chucked in the towel.

"We've had a rough ride but there have been plusses - Noon has been as consistent as anyone in the Premier League and Grimes has been a real rock. He's been a fantastic signing for us, a real pro who performs well.

"Our injuries haven't been run of the mill - we've had three broken legs, smashed shoulder, arm, hand, foot and a broken bone in the back. Plus two knee operations for Burke and David Walder. All impact injuries.

"But I'll tell you this - in the next two years if we can keep everybody on the field we'll have the most experienced squad since we won the championship in 1998."

Two signings have already been completed - Owen Finegan and Italian Tino Paoletti - with a giant forward to follow in the very near future.

"We now look for players who are mentally strong as well as physically," admitted Andrew.

"Our approach has changed slightly. The Premiership is a ruthless place, we're demanding Test match standards from players - youngsters, who perhaps are not quite up to it and can't kick on and reach the level required. It's bigger, stronger and tougher.

"Test matches expose players completely. So does the Premiership now, and as a consequence we're much more selective in recruitment. However, I believe on paper at least we'll have a fantastic squad for next season with everyone fit."

While Andrew is a firm believer in a youth policy, he accepts, with the benefit of hindsight, that the first wave of kids from the academy was probably too many in one go.

"They were also not supported sufficiently and we ended up having to go overseas to get ourselves out of trouble," he said.

"We've spent the last two years trying to get the balance right between our own players coming through and the experienced."

Jack Charlton always maintained that, in soccer management, five years at one club was enough, with familiarity then taking over. I ask Andrew - here twice as long - if he fears or has encountered such problems.

"A coach will always outlive the players if he sticks around," Rob told me.

"But I'm a great believer that stability is crucial in any club. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

"It's interesting - does longevity create success or success create longevity? Either way, if you're building a club from scratch, as we were here, then a youth policy and a long-term plan is necessary and you have to see it through."

Besides, Andrew has never been a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. He played 10 years at Wasps and has spent another 10 here.

The Falcons are at home to London Irish on Saturday and, after all the injury heartache, the boss craves a grandstand finish to the league season and on into the Heineken Cup play-offs.

"We didn't win our last match at Northampton but it's the best we've played for three months," insisted Rob. "That was both a joy and relief."

The optimist had taken over and all was once again right with the world. The sun was shining and the start of a second decade lies ahead.

Gary was the diamond in Rob's string of pearls

Rob Andrew has signed enough players to fill an oceangoing liner yet when I asked him to name his greatest ever Falcon he didn't flinch for a second.

The answer came in rapid-fire time: Gary Armstrong.

"Pound for pound, Gary is unquestionably our best ever signing," enthused Rob. "He was fantastic, a great competitor. Tough and a thorough professional.

"He was here for six years and travelled from Jedburgh in the Borders every day. Yet he was never late - Gary was even on time when we met on Tynemouth beach at 6am one day during pre-season training.

"I tell a lie - he was late once. When he got stuck in a field in a six-foot snowdrift." Andrew's eyes glazed over as he contemplated the world stars who have passed through Kingston Park.

"Dean Ryan was phenomenal both as a player and a coach," he went on. "We had a big pack of forwards and he drove them on. We never really replaced him as a player. Then there was Pat Lam, named rugby's Player of the Year in the season we won the championship.

"He put the icing on the cake, he was the class act to complement the grafters. It was a nice mix of winners.

"The reason he left us immediately after winning the championship was purely financial. His departure coincided with the football club reining back before they opted out altogether. We lost Lam for that reason and Ryan a year later in the same way.

"Our biggest money signing of the Sir John Hall era was Inga Tuigamala, of course, but he was worth it. He brought so much to the table - experience, charisma, stature."

Andrew admits, however, that not all his signings have hit the jackpot. Going back for stars who once glistened so brightly could be a major mistake.

"Lam the second time around was never the same player," accepted Andrew.

"It was his last year and I could see that what was once there wasn't any longer. That happens to players in every sport.

"Garath Archer also returned but by then he was plagued with injuries. He signed a two-year contract but was very honest - after his first season he walked into our Cup-winning banquet and announced he wouldn't play again.

"He had his highs, the championship first time, the cup second time. It was a good way to leave his hometown club."

Page 2: Charvis in frame for job