Is Richards the right man for Falcons?

With the time soon to be up on Leicester and England legend Dean Richards ban for his part in 'Bloodgate' the former Harlequins Director of Rugby has agreed to take the same position at the struggling Newcastle Falcons for the 2012-13 season.

His part in the scandal has undoubtedly tarnished what was a blossoming coaching career, but his talents as a coach cannot be denied. It is quite plausible to suggest that had the 'Bloodgate' incident never come to light, then Richards would have been one of the favourites in the current race for the England Head Coach position. It also fairly safe to assume that had the scandal not come to light, then he would have probably been a coach out of the reach of the Falcons given their current struggles.

Labelled as the favourites to be relegated, the Falcons face an uphill battle to maintain their status as a Premiership club, a battle which could come down to an end of season clash with fellow strugglers London Wasps. Should Newcastle be relegated however, it will not be uncharted territory for Richards who took over at Harlequins following their relegation to the Championship, managing to achieve promotion back to the Premiership in his first season with the London club. In a way, relegation could be a blessing in disguise for both the Falcons and Richards, giving the latter the opportunity to trim the fat at the club and build the club from the ground up in the fashion he prefers. This may be the best long term solution for the Falcons who have been treading water at the bottom of the Premiership for far too long now and a short stint in the Championship may be what the club needs to bounce back to former glories.

While time in the Championship arguably benefitted both Harlequins and Northampton Saints in the long term, Richards biggest challenge, assuming the Falcons do go down, will be to attract players of the quality required to achieve promotion at the first go, a daunting task in itself given the troubles Newcastle have had luring players to the North-East as a Premiership club, let alone a Championship one. It is not an impossible task however, especially given Richards reputation as a players' favourite (perhaps Tom Williams excluded) at the clubs he has been involved with. The natural player exodus that follows a teams' relegation should also help Richards identify those players who genuinely want to play for the Falcons, and those that are just there to pick up their cheque at the end of the month.

Another way in which Richards' arrival should help the club is with the development and retention of their top young players. The Falcons have always been known to produce good young players, look no further than Messrs Wilkinson, Flood and Tait, but their ability to keep hold of these players when the likes of Leicester come sniffing is poor. Granted Wilkinson served Newcastle faithfully for many years, both Tait and Flood saw an opportunity to win titles elsewhere and took the moves early in their Falcons careers. In addition to Richard's well respected ability to nurture younger players, he will bring a belief to the squad that he can take them back to the very top, something which will be a key part of keeping the young nucleus of his squad together.

If the 'Bloodgate' scandal is put to one side and Richards is judged solely on his considerable achievements in the coaching arena, then his appointment is quite a coup for Newcastle, especially as he has agreed to take the job on the considerable chance he will be coaching in the Championship next season. He could well be the decisive factor in attracting players to a club which, at the current time, cannot rank alongside the likes of Leicester, Harlequins and Saracens in terms of a desirable location for the modern rugby player to ply his trade. Expectant fans should perhaps not expect the same instant success that Richards achieved during his time at Harlequins as the Falcons lack the squad strength enjoyed by the London-based side when Richards took over, but they cannot definitely look forward to what should become a much more prosperous era than the one they have had to endure for the past few seasons.