Don't get trapped in bowels of a big club

Diamond's warning to his young guns

- PAUL REES

STEVE Diamond has warned his young charges at Newcastle to beware of offers from other Premiership clubs because they could find themselves making up the numbers in bloated squads.

Diamond, who was appointed consultant director of rugby by the Falcons in January after Alex Codling left the club, will lose three of his brightest prospects at the end of the season.

Prop Phil Brantingham is joining Saracens, the likely destination of outside-half Louie Johnson, and openside flanker Guy Pepper, who was called into the England squad during the Six Nations, is set for Bath.

"I will be looking to have a squad of 34 or 35 players next season backed up by 12 from the academy," said Diamond, who was a long-serving director or rugby at Sale before a shorter stint at Worcester. "Some clubs have 60 or 70 players and still come up north trying to get players out of academies.

"They are warehousing players. It is disappointing that the three are leaving. They made their decisions pretty much before I arrived and there is no point going over why. I have to create an environment where lads like that do not want to go.

"One of the ways you do that is guaranteeing game time and what those three certainly will not get is game time at those clubs. The way you progress as a player is training with better players some of the time but playing at the highest level.