End of the Wald

Coming as it did just four days after Walder was removed from the European Challenge Cup semi-final just 32 minutes into the game, the decision smacked of being a snap reaction to a bad afternoon at the office, and the man himself has since been quoted as saying that it came as a complete shock to him.  We all have our own opinions as to the rights and wrongs of the move (I personally think that it will come back to haunt the club), but this is not the place to reason; this is where we pay tribute to a Falcons stalwart, a man who won one cup final for the club with an injury time try, steered the team to another Twickenham success three years later, and who was called by his ex-boss "the best tactical kicker in England" just two months before he was sacked.

 

 

Dave Walder made his full Falcons debut in 2000 against Bristol, and during his 110 games for the club floated between fly-half and full back as and when needed, as he found that Wilkinson bloke in front of him in his preferred position.  It was ironic, therefore, that possibly his greatest moment in a Falcons jersey - the 2001 Tetley's Bitter Cup Final against Harlequins - was played from full back, and with Falcons 27-23 down going into the last play of the game, he produced the moment for which he'll forever be remembered.

 

From the lineout won by Ian Peel (and it was a Falcons ball, Steve Lander said so), Jamie Noon created room and found Walder in an ocean of space with about ten unchallenged metres between him and the line; between Falcons and the cup.  Job done, Geordie joy, and possibly the least pressurised and most pointless conversion of all time to follow, with the Twickenham scoreboard pronouncing an unassailable 28-27 lead.

 

Go forward three years, another cup final, another Walder moment in the dying seconds.  This time Falcons were in front, 37-33, and a scrum was setting just as the scoreboard ticked onto forty.  Time up, one last play, one solid scrum needed.  Hugh Vyvyan shepherded the ball back to Hall Charlton, who passed out to Wor Dave.  One kick high into the stands and...

 

Nope, it wasn't going that way.  Instead (and I was screaming part in joy, part anticipation, part unadulterated horror at this point), he sent a low bouncing bomb of a kick towards the touchline and just - just - out of Jason Robinson's reach.  Tony Spreadbury's whistle blew, and as the BBC coverage showed later, there was our Walnut leaping and punching the air at having secured another cup winner's medal.

 

Cup finals are always memorable, but some of Walder's best performances came away from the brightest limelight.  A 32 point haul against Saracens at Kingston Park in November 2000 not only won the game 32-27, but set a new individual points scoring record for a Premiership game that has yet to be beaten, and only ex-Falcon Tim Stimpson has equalled it (ironically against us for Leicester).  Another highlight was his performance in the 2003/04 Powergen Cup quarter-final on a barely playable pitch that had mounds of snow cleared off it that morning.  Epi Taione may have got the BBC's man of the match award, but it was Walder who led the attack to London Irish, and finished with a 19 point return including a try - subsequently celebrated by chucking a snowball into the empty North Stand.

 

 

 

Irish seemed to bring out the best and worst in him.  The quarter-final followed the nightmare of a last kick missed conversion at the same stage of the competition a year earlier; his performance at the Madejski in February which led to Andrew's words, and his half hour from hell in the European semi-final that followed, and the subsequent end of his Falcons career.

 

 

In the brief announcement from the club of his leaving, Rob Andrew cited the fact that the club would have Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood, and emphasised that it would be increasingly likely that Dave would get game time.  That, unfortunately, is nothing new - Dave's always seemed to be behind Jonny, in a shadow of sorts (and I hate using the word "shadow").  He hasn't got the credit he deserves for his ability, but then it's difficult when the media only ever call us "Jonny Wilkinson's Newcastle Falcons" (no fault on Jonny's part implied). 

 

 

During the season that Jonny missed due to the World Cup and its fallout, Dave missed three games all season and contributed 294 points, scoring tries in three of the four cup rounds.  Even then, having been left out of the World Cup squad, and being the form fly-half in the country, he still couldn't break back into Woodward's England squad, Charlie Hodgson and Paul Grayson being preferred.  If Jonny had not existed, how many caps would Dave have won?  The meagre total of four would be a lot more, but given that Woodward was obviously not a fan, just how many more would it be? 

 

 

How much the leg break that caused him to miss much of 2002/03 affected him confidence-wise we'll never fully know.  When he reappeared on 20th April 2003 as a 66th minute substitute against Northampton, the warmth of the welcome he received from both sets of supporters on a bitterly cold Easter Sunday was a credit to him, and he was soon back in the routine of booming kicks downfield against the gale.  His last cap came in the pre-World Cup thrashing of Wales at the Millennium Stadium in August 2003. although he was a late call up to the bench for the last Six Nations match this season (against Ireland) without getting on.

 

 

My personal memories of the man?  There are many; the cup finals are in there; his try against Saints in December 2003 where he admitted to Mally in the press conference afterwards that he took a chance on coming out of the line, intercepted a Nick Beal pass and sprinted in 90 metres to score, despite the fact that last defender Mark Connors had given up on halfway; his performance at Northampton this past season, where he produced a chip and chase try, followed by a drop goal, the picture of which will probably end up being the best I'll ever take; and the showing at Rodney Parade, coming in once again as Wilkinson's replacement after another injury and producing a kicking and tactical masterclass in a deluge to secure a very unexpected victory in the first Heineken Cup pool match.

 

Most of all though, I'll remember something very few others will have seen - knowing he'd had a poor game four days before, the sight of Dave practising his kicking on his own on a Thursday afternoon last September, using every second allowed him before the weekly lunchtime press conference to fine tune his game, then coming straight up to the West Stand to be brutally honest about how bad it was and what he intended to correct, before heading back into the rain for more practice.  The results were there to see 48 hours later at Franklin's Gardens.

 

The news that he's finally signed for Wasps is not a surprise, as of all the Premiership clubs, they look to have the most space for him, the most room to further develop him.  He'll do very well there.  Pencil in Friday 23rd February, it's the day that he'll make his first playing return to Kingston Park.  Let's make sure that he knows what we think of him.

 

(We still want an interview though Dave, you're not getting away that easily!)

Dave Walder - Newcastle through and through; honest and selfless bloke; fine player; canny lad.  Don't be a stranger.