Newcastle Falcons Answer Community Diy Sos

Newcastle Falcons players and coaches were out and about helping grassroots clubs and charities as they took part in a pre-season week with a difference.

Last month, the squad and staff were on the tools during the day as they visited an array of community groups to undertake a wide variety of DIY tasks. Trained by professionals from Zara Residential, the Falcons weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty at 12 different clubs and organisations, who were selected from the many applications received earlier in the summer.

As the Falcons moved across the region they got to grips with changing room refurbishments at clubs including Houghton and Percy Park, outfitting new changing rooms for the women’s team at Winlaton Vulcans and stand painting and refurbishment at Redcar and Sunderland.

Away from rugby, the team’s services also assisted Dementia Matters in Brunswick to prepare their gardens for events taking place over the summer while the North Tyneside Disability Forum were helped in moving to their new shop premises.

As well as allowing the team to provide important help to the clubs and organisations they visited, it was also a chance to experience training as grassroots players do, with pre-season sessions taking place at Kingston Park on an evening.

The work not only provided tangible benefits to the community but also offered players and staff an opportunity to bond and lay the foundations for a successful 2019/20 season. Flanker John Hardie said “The boys have had five days of community work to go along with their pre-season programme, so we’ve been training first thing in the morning, doing a day’s work and then coming back to train again in the evening,” he said.

“My group was at Percy Park rugby club for the first two days, then a youth project for one day and to finish we were at Gosforth rugby club.

“To be fair I actually enjoyed it, and as much as it made it a long day it was actually great to spend so much time in each other’s company, to build that rapport with some of the new guys and to have a laugh while working hard at the same time.”