Diamond's call: Invest in boots on the ground

Paul Rees begins his summer series reviewing the Premiership season, starting with the bottom club Newcastle Falcons

- Paul Rees

Newcastle are at a clear disadvantage to the rest of the Premiership because they spend well below the cap. They go into pre-season with a playing squad of 22 with Kiran McDonald the latest to leave after receiving an offer from abroad Diamond said the second row could not refuse.

But to Diamond, investment is about more than an owner or company coming in and signing big names before impatiently waiting for results to pick up. What enthused him about the discussions with Red Bull was the desire they had shown in their sporting connections to create lasting legacies.

"In my coaching career, I have excelled at bringing in the right players for the right money and building academies," said Diamond. "When you look at clubs like Sale and Northampton, 60 per cent of their squads are made up of academy graduates.

"At Newcastle it is just 25 per cent, which is ridiculous. New investment means funding across the board so we can build an infra-structure, not just salaries. A failure here in the past has been not to invest in boots on the ground. That has to change.

England's team that took on France last weekend contained two former Newcastle products, Davison and Guy Pepper. The latter joined Bath last summer, spurning the guarantee of a regular starting place to vie with the likes of Sam Underhill.

Pepper was named man of the match at the end of the Premiership final against Leicester, vindication of his decision, and he has been followed out of Kingston Park this summer by England Under-20 internationals Ben Redshaw and Max Pepper, who are joining Gloucester and Bristol respectively.

"They had opportunities to play in a better set-up and why would you stand in their way?" said Diamond. "They made a decision and I backed it, but when investment comes in you want players like that to be with you."