Dean Richards keen to impress at Newcastle – Rugby News Update
Dean Richards, the Leicester Tigers’ No.8 and coach, has laid down the gauntlet for Newcastle Falcons ahead of the new season, and wants to turn the club in the north-east of England into a rugby powerhouse.
The Falcons finished bottom of the Aviva Premiership in the current season, with their status still yet undefined and will only be confirmed once the outcome of the final of Championship, the first tier of rugby in England, will be decided. London Welsh
take on the Cornish Pirates in the two-legged final, and if the London Welsh emerge victorious then there is a possibility that Newcastle will be playing in the Championship next season.
However, this does not bother Richards, who is returning to coaching after a three-year ban was imposed on him in 2009 for using fake blood in a Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster, in order to force a substitution.
He said, "Newcastle Falcons is a sleeping giant which, given the size of the rugby community in the North East, needs to be woken up."
"Something can really happen up here, and it is a great opportunity."
He credits the Chairman of Newcastle, Semore Kurdi for tempting him to the Falcons and he believes in the vision that the owner has set for the club.
Richards said, "Semore impressed me right from the off – from the very first chat that we had."
"I like his vision for the club. He is not somebody who is just going to throw good money after bad. He is somebody who wants to succeed, to make things happen and for the Falcons to be a viable community club."
Due to his ban, he cannot start before August, but he is keen to implement a culture, which is based on honesty, integrity and ethics. He feels that if he manages to implement this into his players, then they are destined for great things.
Deans was an international for England, playing 48 matches for his country. He made his debut against Ireland at Twickenham, on Mar 1, 1986, and played his last international test against the same opposition ten years later at the same venue, to bid farewell
to his career.
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