Steve Diamond still ‘shopping in Aldi’ as Newcastle boss provides insight into Falcons’ recruitment
Steve Diamond has compared his recruitment to 'shopping in Aldi'
Newcastle Falcons Director of Rugby, Steve Diamond, has given an insight into the reasons behind the calibre of players he’s brought into the club, saying they fit the mould he wants from a player.
Newcastle have seen a major squad overhaul following another disappointing campaign, in which they finished bottom of the table with no wins from their 18 Premiership games.
‘I’ve always shopped in Aldi’
Diamond has turned to some familiar faces he knows from spells at other clubs, like Cameron Neild from Sale Sharks, but he has also recruited some players with just a handful of Premiership games.
Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s first game of the new season, Diamond compared his recruitment approach to ‘shopping in Aldi’.
“I made comment recently about these other recruiters at clubs, remember we have these recruiters now, who are coming from Harrods and shopping in Aldi; but I’ve always shopped in Aldi and done alright, so my recruitment is good,” he said.
“I know what I want and I know what they can deliver.”
He added: “We’re not in the marketplace for players that we can’t afford. What I do is I go in with extensive knowledge of what we want and what the Premiership offers and I manage to eek people out.”
Fresh faces at Kingston Park
As alluded to earlier, Diamond has brought in some players who haven’t quite had their break at other clubs either in the Premiership or abroad, but they fit his mould of player.
Tom Gordon, Luan de Bruin and Sam Arnold have all joined the Falcons from outside of the Premiership and will be keen to impress in their new surroundings.
Elsewhere, Jack Metcalf, Alex Hearle, Conor Doherty, Kieran Wilkinson and the aforementioned Neild have all come to Kingston Park from other Premiership clubs, and will look to cement themselves as true Premiership talents under the tutelage of Diamond.
“I said it this morning; four of the lads who signed, two of which have played for me before and the other two agreed to come during the conversation I had with them and it was the first conversation I had and we didn’t even mention money,” he continued. “People are coming for the right reasons, they’re coming to play.”
Importantly, they all fit in with his idea of recruitment, and he detailed how he wants to bring players that ‘fit in’ to join his clubs.
“You bring people who will fit in. I know people between 18-32 better than anybody and the lads who have joined us are in that age range and they know what they’re doing.”
Diamond’s Falcons begin their Premiership campaign with a tough clash against Bristol Bears on Friday night, but with the new recruits expected to litter the squad, you would imagine it will be anything but a repeat of the 85-14 thrashing last year.
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