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'I think he is at peace with it now, he struggled for a few weeks'

(Photo by David Rogers/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

New Newcastle director of rugby Dave Walder has explained how ex-England back-rower Mark Wilson has taken to coaching in his first few months as an assistant looking after contact skills and assisting with defence. The 32-year-old’s world was turned upside down last February when he quit playing with immediate effect just weeks after making his sole appearance of the season on January 29.

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Problems with his knee forced him out and Dean Richards, the Falcons DoR at the time, summed up the depression the news caused. “I hate talking about people being retired, it’s as though you have written him off in his life. It sounds f***in’ terrible,” he said.

It was mid-May, amid rumours that Wilson could join the Newcastle coaching staff, when Dave Walder, who was being promoted from head coach to DoR for the 2022/23 campaign, provided an update on how the 2019 World Cup finalist had been coping with life as a retired player.

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Like anyone it hit him like a bit of a train, he took a bit of time away and started training for duathlons and physically he is in good shape. His knee is still giving him struggles but he has realised that in the life of a coach you can stand around, you don’t have to run around.”

At the time, Walder couldn’t confirm if Wilson was definately joining his Newcastle management ticket but having assisted England Students and at the local Ryton club, it was eventually confirmed that the back-rower capped 23 times by England was indeed coming back to the Falcons in a very different capacity.

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Ahead of the new season Gallagher Premiership opener versus Harlequins this Saturday at Kingston Park, Walder provided RugbyPass with an update on how Wilson has coped with the tricky transition from player to coach at such a young age. “Brilliant. What you see is what you get with Mark Wilson. He is Mr Positive, full of energy, he has got an unbelievable work ethic which is like he had when he played and he has also got that link with the players having captained the group last year.

“There are a lot of guys still in the group who he is very familiar with, so he has got a link with it but fundamentally he is just a good bloke who is very proud of the region and works incredibly hard and is always very, very positive.”

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He surely had some dark days, though, in the immediate aftermath of hanging up the boots seven months ago and transitioning into his new job. “I think he is at peace with it now. He struggled with it in the first couple of weeks in pre-season. We had a couple of tough sessions where the boys were on top of Cow Hill having done a hill session.

“The more experienced coaches were quite glad we were at the top of the hill watching the players run up it whereas Mark was angling to run down and join in with them. That is something I still find as a coach, you don’t ever get used to not having that camaraderie of playing, being with the playing group and being on the pitch.

“It is different and it does take time to get over it but over the last three or four weeks, he has got peace with it and he is in a really good place. He is doing a brilliant job and has got a great rapport with the players, has got some brilliant ideas and has been a breath of fresh air for our coaching team.”

For years, Wilson was the sole Falcons presence when it came to England representation and while that has changed in recent times with the emergence of the likes of Jamie Blamire, it will surely be beneficial for Newcastle to have got him back involved given he is such a recognisable figure in the north-east region.

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“The club is always built around people from the area,” continued Walder. “People are very proud to represent the area and Mark best summed that up when he signed for Sale on loan during the season we were in the Championship, when his name came up playing for England he didn’t want to be a Sale player he wanted to be a Newcastle player.

“That shows how much the club means to Mark and how proud he is of the club. We have also got other people on the coaching team, Micky Ward has been here for what probably feels like 50 years, he has been here for years.

“I’m coming up to 20 years at the club, Mark Laycock must be 15, 18 years, so there is a real group of coaches who have been here for a long time who know how the club ticks. Hopefully, we can impart that a bit on the players.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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