Falcons short on numbers

Jun 3 2009 by Nick Purewal, The Journal

ADMITTING his small squad will struggle to run deep enough with tried and tested quality, Steve Bates is excited by the youngsters who will back up his frontline Newcastle Falcons.

Bates is nearing the completion of his Kingston Park revamp, having already secured the services of eight new faces and still working hard to close the deal for Springbok centre Gcobani Bobo.

Filipo Levi and Josh Afu have bolstered the back row, while James Hudson replenishes the lock stocks and Kieran Brookes will provide cover at prop.

Behind the scrum Jimmy Gopperth will lead the backline, with Leeds pair Rob Vickerman and Tom Biggs adding strength and guile to the three-quarters, and Charlie Amesbury coming in on the wing.

Bobo would boost midfield options, especially given the glut of leavers in that area, with Tom May and Jamie Noon crossing the Channel along with Jonny Wilkinson, while back-ups like Tom Dillon have also left. Nineteen players have left the club this summer, so with just eight signed so far the simple maths highlight chairman Dave Thompson’s previous pledge to cut numbers.

Happy with Thompson’s stewardship, Bates obviously admits that in an ideal world he would throw big money at a lot of players – but when he gets down to the real situation, he is increasingly pleased with what he is building.

Where he does admit the Falcons could wobble, though, is if injuries mount up and the youthful cover within the squad fails to take to the tasks quickly.

Excited by the job of bringing his new-look squad together as quickly as possible, Bates said he expects his Falcons to be more competitive next season.