We can survive! Wells and Ford back Newcastle to beat the drop

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UPDATED:

21:00 GMT, 13 April 2012

Out of the frying pan, into the fire – that’s the scenario for Mike Ford and John Wells. Just four months after leaving the RFU amid the savage demolition of Martin Johnson’s England regime, they are immersed in a salvage operation which has reached ‘desperation’ point.

They’d already come through an almighty ordeal this season; the World Cup debacle and aftermath with the leaked reports which portrayed their work in a dim light. But instead of taking their union pay-off and dropping off the radar, the men who had taken charge of the national team’s defence and forwards since 2006 rapidly re-surfaced on Tyneside.

Crunch time: Worcester's Kai Horstmann hands off Newcastle's Jonny Golding (left)

What drew them to Newcastle was the
challenge of a backs-to-the-wall fight against relegation from the Aviva
Premiership, under the guidance of former South Africa coach, Gary
Gold. Ford agreed to join the crusade in mid-January, Wells a fortnight
later. Since then, the Falcons have beaten London Irish and Sale, picked
up a losing bonus point at Bath and been agonisingly denied a similar
consolation at Worcester.

However, Wasps have responded to the renewed threat to their top-flight status by beating Irish and Gloucester – the latter win courtesy of a last-minute penalty – to maintain an eight-point advantage in 11th place.

The up-shot is that the North East club go to into Saturday’s game at Gloucester knowing that it is do-or-die time. If they lose and Wasps win, Newcastle will be relegated, subject to the winners of the Championship passing the entry criteria for the Premiership.

The stakes are high, but Ford has relished the chance to put the unsavoury footnote to his time with England behind him. He said: ‘The way Gary (Gold) sold it to me was by saying, “We could both just sit at home and say we’re international coaches, or we could accept the challenge of trying to save a club who are nine points adrift with nine games to go”. That appealed to me.

Into the fire: Wells (left) and Ford in their England days

‘There were people saying, “You’re going
to be the guys who take Newcastle down and that will always be on your
CV”. But I saw it the other way; that we could be seen as the guys who
saved Newcastle. I was confident we could close that gap and even though
it’s still eight points, I’m still confident.

‘A big part of it was that I wanted to keep coaching. We had plenty of time to prepare for what was going to happen with England – it was pretty obvious that we were going to leave – so I prepared myself. Newcastle came along at the right time for me to move on and get stuck into some work.’

Wells, who had so much coaching success at Leicester before joining England, had a similar out-look, saying: ‘I have never worked in a side that has had to struggle – that for me is the biggest challenge. There was obviously the post-World Cup affair and initially it was good to take some time out, but it is good to be back in the saddle. I enjoy coaching and the day-to-day interaction with players, coaches and staff.

‘Having been involved with England for five years I feel that, in the last two or three, there has been much more interest in the profile of coaches as opposed to what they are actually achieving. Those guys who actively push their profile are always seen to be doing well, and those like Mike and myself who just get on with our jobs can find it difficult.’

Up for the fight: Fly-half Jimmy Gopperth (centre) is key to Newcastle's hopes

Having encountered the spirited defiance of Newcastle as an opponent in the past, Wells has sampled it first-hand in the last two months and he added: ‘What has stood Newcastle in good stead throughout the years, despite their often indifferent form, has been the fact that they are a nightmare to play against at Kingston Park. One thing about this club is that they have been in these scraps many times before.’

They are certainly in one now, but
Ford found early cause for hope and he retains the belief that the
Falcons can escape, via remaining games at Kingsholm on Saturday, at
home to champions Saracens and against Wasps at Adams Park on May 5.

‘After
I signed, I watched some of their games and thought the team were not
as bad as the position in the table suggested,’ he said. ‘I thought I
could make a difference there. The biggest thing for me, coming from the
World Cup, was the lack of intensity. We had to quickly get them up to
speed and we probably over-trained them at first, but the game against
Quins at Kingston Park gave us a lot of belief because they brought
their best side and needed a late penalty to get a draw.

On his way: Dean Richards takes over at Newcastle in the summer

‘We have improved but fair play to Wasps, they have responded by beating London Irish and then Gloucester, so we have to win this game – it’s desperation time. We are under real pressure but I really think we can do it.’

Despite insisting that Newcastle can survive, Ford believes the summer arrival of Dean Richards will ensure the club bounce straight back up if they are relegated. The former England No 8 – coming to the end of his post-Bloodgate, three-year ban – has experience in taking on such a revival exercise after guiding Harlequins to promotion at the start of his stint with the London club.

Wells is expected to stay on, to join forces with his old Leicester comrade, and Ford is believed to be considering coaching offers from a host of Premiership clubs.

For both men, painful memories of the brutal, post-World Cup are gradually fading. Whatever happens to Newcastle on Saturday or in the coming weeks, they have turned a corner, moved on and reignited their careers.