6.30am. Kingston Park, Newcastle. As he leads Mail Sport and Falcons assistant Alan Dickens on a brutal crack-of-dawn weights circuit – one he has nicknamed ‘Pump Membership’ – Steve Diamond is in his component.
‘You will not have the ability to carry your pen tomorrow!’ shouts the Newcastle director of rugby, a depraved grin spreading throughout his face as he revels in his new coaching accomplice’s struggles.
‘I’ve acquired 20 years on you! We solely practice what you see – meaning higher physique!’ Quickly sufficient – and much faster than I would prefer to admit – my arms start to really feel like jelly. The 55-year-old Diamond, in the meantime, ploughs on relentlessly.
An invite to affix the Falcons for a day in camp forward of the brand new Gallagher Premiership season was readily accepted. Nevertheless it got here at a worth. Diamond insisted ‘Pump Membership’ participation was a compulsory requirement in trade for behind-the-scenes entry.
By 7am, because the bench press reps mount up and the 15 kilo dumbbells I am lifting start to really feel heavier and heavier, I begin to surprise if the ache is price it. After two rounds, the finale consists of pull-ups – an train I battle with at one of the best of occasions. The lactic acid build-up means I can’t even handle one. Diamond – a person 20 years my senior – steps in to assist carry me up and down. Embarrassing. I ponder what Newcastle’s hard-nosed forwards, who’re figuring out elsewhere within the health club, are making of all of it. It will be onerous to argue in the event that they thought me a gentle contact. Days later, my arms are nonetheless aching and function a reminder of my Newcastle exertions.
Mail Sport not too long ago spoke with Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Steve Diamond
Diamond agreed to talk with reporter Alex Bywater (left) if he took half in ‘Pump Membership’
Diamond is the person charged with bringing Newcastle – who did not win a Premiership recreation final season – out of the doldrums. Dickens is his key lieutenant.
Diamond has not solely satisfied his previous good friend into becoming a member of him again at English membership rugby’s coalface, but in addition changing into his health club buddy. The deal is that if Dickens trains with him twice a day throughout work hours, Diamond will cook dinner tea for the pair on the flat they now share on Newcastle’s Quayside.
‘I’ve misplaced 5 kilos since I began coaching with Dimes,’ says Dickens. ‘He is relentless!’
Diamond provides: ‘I’ve identified Dicko for twenty-four years. I satisfied him to surrender a educating job to play for me at Sale and I’ve labored with him in all places since then. He is an excellent coach.
‘We did fall out, however now we’re again and even residing collectively! It is like a love story!’
Newcastle’s latest chapters have been extra like tales of woe. The 2023/24 marketing campaign was the nadir for a membership who’ve turn into used to propping up the Premiership.
However within the charismatic and energetic Diamond, the Falcons hope they’ve a boss who could make them aggressive as soon as once more. ‘Pump Membership’ is simply the beginning of Diamond’s day.
The exercise at Newcastle’s Kingston Park Stadium left Bywater’s arms feeling like jelly
Assistant Alan Dickens (left) – who joined Newcastle in July – additionally took half in ‘Pump Membership’
Diamond and Dickens didn’t go simple on Bywater through the early morning exercise
‘We do not hold about right here you understand,’ he says, as I desperately attempt to rehydrate post-gym and Diamond makes his means for a bathe earlier than an 8am teaching assembly. ‘Are you coming or not?’
Newcastle and Diamond’s willingness to open the doorways to their crew setting is uncommon in fashionable skilled sport. Within the bathe room, Diamond breaks the information to forwards coach Micky Ward that their worldwide prop Eduardo Bello has suffered a severe knee damage on Argentina responsibility.
‘Felipe Contepomi rang me final night time and stated it does not look good,’ says Diamond. ‘And he is a physician! We’ll must put our feelers out for tightheads now however I am not bringing in everlasting signings once I’ve acquired younger gamers to present an opportunity to.
‘I’ve by no means let accidents trouble me. They provide an opportunity to another person.’
Ward responds: ‘If the worst involves the worst Dimes, we’ll must have a go!’
Seeing Diamond’s health club prowess up shut and private, you would not be all that shocked if he may nonetheless do a job within the entrance row. Nonetheless, there’s a deathly silence when the Bello information is damaged within the teaching assembly. The Puma is one among Newcastle’s most necessary gamers.
Diamond has spent the summer season fairly actually rebuilding the Falcons. When he first arrived in January, initially as a marketing consultant, he lamented the actual fact he could not make a cup of tea within the workplace as there was no sink or operating water. Diamond promptly despatched his crew supervisor and analyst to IKEA to purchase a flatpack kitchen unit and put in it himself.
Plenty of work has been achieved since Newcastle didn’t win a single league recreation final season
Forwards coach Micky Ward pictured (proper) alongside Dickens, Bywater and Diamond
Diamond likes to entertain his workers with magic methods. He took his gamers on a pre-season journey to Cumbria for a weekend of tenting. Newcastle’s squad introduced their very own tents. Canoeing, paddle boarding, cricket and axe throwing had been the actions. One participant turned up for the weekend armed solely with a hammock and a crate of Stella.
Then got here an evening on the beer and karaoke at Penrith Rugby Membership. Elliott Obatoyinbo impressed with a rap track previous to Diamond dressing up as Simon Cowell to guage a expertise present the place the gamers needed to produce some type of creative efficiency. One group made a spoof episode of ‘By the Keyhole’ through which they surreptitiously ‘obtained’ the keys to Diamond’s residence. Dickens’ position in that episode has come firmly below the microscope.
‘My cricket matches are very totally different to those you see at Lord’s,’ says Diamond, who acted as umpire. ‘In my cricket if somebody hits a six, the bowler drinks two cans of lager. Should you’re bowled out, the batsman drinks two cans of lager. It is a spinoff of The Hundred! If any non-public fairness corporations wish to spend money on it, they’re going to have to come back by means of me. Inform them it is Steve Diamond Enterprises!’
He continues: ‘My status means I’ve missed out on some large jobs, however one factor I do find out about is gelling a gaggle collectively. It does not at all times must contain alcohol. It is a easy system.
‘Opposite to common perception, I take advantage of the carrot not the stick. Coaches discuss creating tradition. I feel that is a b*******’ phrase however it’s a must to make folks really feel concerned.
‘Folks say I am old fashioned, however I care about my gamers. They get numerous time without work with me however once they’re right here, I count on them to work onerous.’
Diamond desires Newcastle to be a gritty crew who epitomise the spirit of the town they signify. ‘That is the true north’ reads the signal above the Kingston Park tunnel because the gamers run out for matches. Diamond’s guiding ideas for the Falcons are the ‘Three H’s’. Hostile. Hungry. The third ‘H’ is unprintable however references Diamond’s want for his crew to be bodily on the sector.
‘The tenting journey is a tried and examined technique. It was two to a few days with no rugby,’ Diamond says. ‘There was no have to go overseas. We have to make the boys earn the good issues.’
Diamond and Bywater pictured pointing to the ‘True North’ signal on the Kingston Park stadium
The opposite aspect of the inspirational signal options the slogans ‘Do the work’ and ‘100 per cent Falcons’
To see Diamond’s strategies shut hand is to witness a grasp motivator at work. MailSport was given a seat in Newcastle’s internal sanctum. From lunch to health club classes and participant and training conferences, nothing was off limits.
The Falcons each play and practice at Kingston Park. On the stadium partitions, photos of Jonny Wilkinson, the late Doddie Weir and Rob Andrew function a reminder of the membership’s glory days.
Diamond empowers his assistant coaches to guide. His mantra is ‘Why have a canine and bark your self?’ Gamers are inspired to have a voice.
As I sit in the back of Ward’s forwards assembly, observing, 4 phrases trigger me to leap out of my seat even after a morning within the health club. ‘Alex, come on up.’ Hassle. Ward likes to carry a problem to every of his get-togethers and my presence in camp means I’m not exempt.
Fortunately, regardless of my worst fears, the duty is easy – rolling three tennis balls in the direction of a collection of factors scoring targets. The affect of ‘Pump Membership’ means doing that’s difficult sufficient.
Whereas my efficiency is much from a private greatest, a rating of 15 beats Newcastle’s crew of entrance rowers. I chalk it down as one thing of a victory and return to my seat.
‘Hear that?’ says Diamond, because the well-known Kingston Park wind whistles by means of a spot within the door.
‘That is magnificent for us. Bristol can be working towards their line-outs of their pretty indoor coaching centre and not using a breath of wind. They’re coming right here on Friday and will probably be very totally different.
‘We have got to be taught to know the climate in Newcastle higher than anybody else. By coaching at Kingston Park every day, we’re getting used to that.
‘We’ll have some benefits by enjoying right here.
‘We acquired beat 85-14 by Bristol final season and we play them first up this 12 months. If we get beat 80-0, it will be an enchancment, would not it? However we have got a completely totally different mindset this 12 months.’
A forwards assembly was led by coach Ward contained in the Kingston Park stadium through the go to
Newcastle practice at Kingston Park, in addition to enjoying all of their house fixtures on the stadium
‘The angle change was essential as a result of the membership has virtually not received a recreation for 2 years. I do not suppose anybody has achieved extra Premiership seasons than me. You journalists suppose we can’t win a recreation once more. That is incredible.
‘Newcastle have been backside of the league for all however one of many final 4 years, so that they’ve had a systemic failure. Final 12 months wasn’t a blip.
‘But when we hold citing the previous, it is not going to assist anyone. It is a outstanding group of younger lads right here as a result of they did not win a recreation final season and so they do not look like broken by it. Solely time will inform whether or not my mind-bending works on them however I feel we are going to put a cat amongst the pigeons within the league this 12 months.
‘If I used to be egocentric, I would say if we received just one or two video games, it will be a good bit higher than final season however that is not what I am about. I wish to be difficult for Europe.’
Diamond’s crew assembly at noon is his likelihood to put out his message. Cam Neild, who was signed to carry a tough edge to the crew, is the butt of the jokes after struggling a damaged arm within the pre-season recreation with Sale. Newcastle’s gamers drove to that tie themselves, stayed in a Travelodge, and acquired the tram to the match.
Diamond has stripped again his squad for 2024/25. Newcastle’s finances is dwarfed by the likes of Tub, however that’s no excuse for poor efficiency in Diamond’s guide. In his conferences, he stresses the Falcons have not been adequate on the fundamentals required to win Premiership matches. The message is evident. There are many expletives.
The brand new Premiership season is only a week away and Newcastle are decided to do higher
Newcastle misplaced 40-39 towards Sale Sharks in a latest pre-season pleasant at Heywood Highway
Newcastle’s warm-up with a robust Sale aspect confirmed indicators of development. A single-figure penalty rely was one such instance. ‘F***ing hell, we could not rating a attempt final season. I wish to get the positivity up. We’re coming from nowhere on assault,’ says Diamond, who insists Newcastle’s gamers and workers eat collectively and clear up after themselves.
He has additionally demanded the membership operates on a steady monetary footing. By mid-afternoon, Diamond’s rugby work is basically achieved. However he by no means winds down. He returns to the health club with Dickens for spherical two of ‘Pump Membership’ – a session I am fortunately allowed to overlook.
Greater than 12 hours after first arriving on web site, Diamond continues to be going sturdy come the early night through which he hosts a query and reply with Newcastle supporters. He has the group consuming out of the palm of his hand. He does not sugarcoat issues. His presence holds the room.
If Newcastle’s gamers present the character, bodily power and starvation of their boss this season, then they could be able to upsetting the Premiership apple cart.
‘The attention-grabbing factor is that 17 to twenty gamers have left and solely three of them have gotten a job elsewhere within the Premiership. That reveals I used to be proper with the jettison,’ Diamond says.
‘Cash is necessary in rugby, nevertheless it’s not as necessary as having set of lads.’Take a look at the Premier League in soccer. You do not see Brighton or Brentford moaning about what Manchester United are spending. They simply beat them!’
