Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dave Walder to step down at end of 2022/23

Newcastle Falcons have announced that director of rugby Dave Walder will leave the Gallagher Premiership club at the end of the ongoing season.

Even though Walder is contracted until the end of the campaign, he will step aside with Mark Laycock taking in charge of the club.

Walder, who played 140 times for the club between 1999 and 2006 initially joined the Falcons as skills coach and stepped up as backs and attack coach. He was promoted as the head coach in 2017 before appointed head of rugby in the 2022/23 season following the departure of Dean Richards.

“Realistically we haven’t been where we want to be for a few years now and as a club we recognise the need to make changes to our approach to achieve our goals," said chairman of rugby Matt Thompson.

"Transitional periods like this are never easy, and unfortunately we are going to lose some people along the way.

“A lot has happened, particularly this year, both across the sport and on and off the field at the club, and we need a bit of a reset across the board.

“Our aim is to be a sustainable club that is here for years to come and in line with that it’s important that we invest in the right areas, in the right way at the right time. We want to entertain our supporters and play an exciting brand of rugby, which also means having the right players and coaching personnel in place to take us forward, and that is part of our ongoing recruitment strategy."

Newcastle are languishing at the 10th place in the table after managing five wins from 16 games but will not face relegation as Wasps and Worcester entered into administration last year.