BIG BASH A BIG SUCCESS - BIG SIGNINGS TO FOLLOW?

Presenting the Player of the Season Award 2004 to Jamie Noon, the Falcons Director of Rugby suggested that the evening was a mirror of the Club and its ambitions.

‘This is a special club - it is getting bigger and better as reflected in these awards’, he said. And few would disagree after an impressive event that managed to capture both the ambition of the Club and the close relationship that bonds supporters, players and staff.

On an evening that was about celebrating success, endeavour, commitment and dedication, it was perhaps fitting that the centrepiece of the table on which the awards sat awaiting their recipients was something achieved through the application of all those qualities - the Powergen Cup.

There cannot be many rugby awards ceremonies held this year at which Jonny Wilkinson is present yet leaves at the end of the evening without yet another trophy for the cabinet. But this was one such occasion. It is a measure of the character of the man that in a celebration of a season in which this particular Falcon became the most famous rugby player on the planet he was happy to sit amongst his fellow players and applaud their efforts and achievements.

So who were the lucky recipients?

The Player of the Season Award 2004 went to Jamie Noon, who with the last match of the season against Rotherham made his fiftieth consecutive Premiership start, a remarkable record that will take some beating. During the season Jamie has scored seven tries and impressed everyone with his tackling and general play, well almost everyone. As Rob commented in presenting the award it is a mystery why he is touring the USA and Canada this summer, and not Australia and New Zealand. Wake up Clive!

The Players’ Player of the Season Award, presented by Steve Black, went to departing captain Hugh Vyvyan. Inspirational and dedicated, he will be a hard act to follow.

Yet there was also a reminder of just how much talent the Falcons have been developing to follow the path forged by Hugh. Academy Manager John Fletcher was able to reflect on a season in which a number of Academy players - Geoff Parling, David Wilson, Toby Flood, Sean Tomes, Stephen Jones, and the latest signing Matthew Tait amongst them - have stepped forward to secure first team and international recognition. The Academy Player of the Year Award went to one of these youngsters, a player who made three first team appearances in 2003/04 - Andy Buist.

It was little surprise that the Try of the Season Award went to Phil Dowson for the effort that secured victory at Twickenham a few weeks back. And in a season where the Falcons’ Community Programme gained national recognition - with Dave Walder scooping a national award - it was another Twickenham try-scorer, Joe Shaw, who was presented by Mark Foster with the Newcastle Falcons Community Award for 2004, in recognition of his work in visiting 27 clubs and schools during the season.

There was also little surprise that the award for the most consistent player over the course of the season, the KS Ken Lockerbie Award, went to a colleague of Dowson in the Falcons’ pack, Warren Britz. However, there may have been some in the audience who were surprised to see a pink shawl draped around Warren’s shoulders as he stepped up to receive his award.

Well I can exclusively reveal where that shawl came from. South African Warren Britz was one of the few people troubled by the temperatures on a what for Kingston Park was a reasonably warm evening. He visibly shivered as he sat watching the ceremony unfold, but help was at hand. Indicating the close bond that exists between supporters and players, our very own Lyn came to Warren’s aid, lending him her pashmina (shawl, to the uninitiated), into which he gratefully snuggled. Credit to the man that he even kept it on as he stepped up to the podium to receive his award.

To unanimous approval, Ian Peel presented retiring Supporters Club Chairman Jack Stewart with a Special Award in recognition of his magnificent work in organising away travel for supporters, and in particular delivering thousands of supporters to Twickenham to cheer the team on in the Powergen Final.

Jack was his usual, modest self in accepting the award, paying tribute to the teamwork involved, but quite how he will live up to Blackie’s subsequent reference to him as that great Formula One driver, I’m not so sure.

Another award to an unsung hero went to John Dodd, long-serving referees liaison officer, who received the Clubman of the Year Award from Falcons Chairman Dave Thompson in recognition of his voluntary work on the sidelines.

The Awards Ceremony was impeccably hosted by ITV’s Dawn Thewles and BBC’s Jeff Brown, and it commenced and ended with the beautiful voice of Belinda Evans - who sang at the Rugby World Cup - providing a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Swing Low’ and ‘World in Union’. The musical highlight of the evening, however, was undoubtedly the Falcons’ very own Steve ‘Frank Sinatra with attitude’ Black and his rendition of ‘Come Fly With Me’. He had the West Stand swinging.

After the Awards Ceremony, and an auction that saw some high prices paid for signed items including a World Cup Ball, a France Shirt, and even part of the wing off Montoya’s Formula One car (?!), everyone retired into the West Stand to dance, listen to jazz, ride the rodeo - not an easy task after a few drinks or in a cocktail dress - and gamble their chips away at the casino.

The Club have taken a number of gambles this season.

Having failed to live up to expectations in the league, they gambled on gaining entry to Europe via the Powergen Cup. And it worked.

Having seen the size of the club grow, they gambled on a new format for the end of season party, with the awards ceremony held on the pitch at the mercy of the weather and the guests spread across all levels of the West Stand. And it worked.

But the biggest gamble is still to come - and was the source of much comment during the evening. To get the club on a sound financial footing that will allow it to reinforce its home-grown talent with international quality and so compete for the big prizes, the club has restructured its season ticket pricing. Almost everyone agrees that the manner it which this has been done could have been handled better, but most are coming round to the view that it was necessary to ensure that the club continues to grow.

Fortune favours the brave, it is said. It favoured the Falcons at Twickenham in April. It favoured the Falcons at Kingston Park on Friday night. As the Big Bash came to an end in the early hours of Saturday morning, as the Falcons prepare to step onto the European stage and as we await news of those promised new signings, the question on everyone’s lips is whether fortune will continue to smile on the Falcons. I think it will.

Player of the Year 2004 - Jamie Noon

Player’s Player of the Year 2004 - Hugh Vyvyan

Young Player of the Season - Andy Buist

Ken Lockerbie Award - Warren Britz

Try of the Season - Phil Dowson

Community Award - Joe Shaw

Club Man - John Duff

Player’s Special Award - Jack Stewart

Referee: Mick Hogan and his wonderful team

Attendance: 650 plus