Newcastle Falcons confirm departing players

Newcastle Falcons have confirmed the players who are leaving this summer as the club looks ahead to the 2023-24 season.

A total of 15 first-team squad members depart with the thanks and best wishes of the club, with ten new signings already announced.

The players leaving Kingston Park this summer are Conrad Cade, Connor Collett, Matthew Dalton, Carl Fearns, Gary Graham, Conor Kenny, Pete Lucock, Tom Marshall, Logovi’i Mulipola, Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, Greg Peterson, Sean Robinson, Alex Tait, Will Welch and Michael Young.

Double centurions Tait and Welch have already announced their intention to pursue a career in finance after retiring from the game.

Scrum-half Young departs after reaching the 200-appearance mark during his two spells at Kingston Park, captaining the club on a number of occasions and providing vital leadership on and off the field.

Lock-forward Sean Robinson moves on after playing 135 times, nine of them this season, while Gary Graham’s six seasons with the Falcons have seen him appearing 95 times, seven of which came during 2022-23.

USA lock Greg Peterson leaves with 75 games to his name, while Samoan prop Mulipola departs having played 79 times over five seasons.

Chairman of rugby Matt Thompson said: “I would like to thank all of the guys who are moving on during the summer and wish them all the best for the future.

“They have given great service to the club, some of them for well over a decade, and I hope they go on to have great success wherever they decide to go.”

Newcastle have so far announced ten new additions to the first-team squad next season under incoming head coach Alex Codling (Oyonnax), with the signings of Josh Bainbridge (Coventry), Louis Brown (Coventry), Bryan Byrne (Bristol Bears), Tim Cardall (Melbourne Rebels), Cameron Hutchison (Edinburgh), John Kelly (Doncaster Knights), Ollie Leatherbarrow (Exeter Chiefs), Murray McCallum (Edinburgh), Kiran McDonald (ex-Munster) and Hugh O’Sullivan (London Irish).

A further first-team signing will be announced at the upcoming fans’ forum on Monday June 12.

Five senior academy players will leave the club during the summer, with James Blackett, Jeremy Civil, Ewan Greenlaw, Chidera Obonna and Charlie Smith all moving on.

Five players have been added to the senior academy squad in the form of England Under-18s internationals Finn Baker, Isaac Keller, Jacob Oliver and Ben Redshaw, as well as Newcastle University’s Adam Scott.