Newcastle head coach Peter Russell ready to get Falcons on the attack

Kiwi Russell, an electrical engineer by trade, had hoped to start work at the Falcons on Monday when the players reported back for pre-season training.
But his visa application is still being processed, leaving the former Wellington player temporarily kicking his heels in New Zealand.
Speaking exclusively to The Rugby Paper from his home in Napier, Russell, an assistant coach with the Highlanders and head coach at Hawkes’s Bay until recently, cannot wait to get started on his biggest assignment to date and prove that attacking rugby can be successful rugby in the Northern Hemisphere.
“The message I have always put to my teams is to  have an attacking attitude, and to me attacking attitude applies with or without the ball.
“Of course there are going to be times when you do have to shut it down, there are going to be bleak days when you can hardly see because of the weather conditions. But even during a blizzard or on a rainy day you still might get one chance to score a try and you need to be able to take it.
“I’d like to think that the autumn and spring style of rugby is your starting point rather than 10-man rugby, which should be in your back pocket and ready if needed.”
For too long the try-shy Falcons have relied on the boot of Jimmy Gopperth as their main source of points. The New Zealand-born fly-half has contributed an incredible 65 per cent of his side’s total in three seasons of Premiership rugby.
Russell, though, believes that Newcastle can change their stripes and play a running game with the players that have been recruited at Kingston Park.
“If you watched the All Blacks versus the Irish they beat them because everyone knows how to play the game and is able to play that way.
“Looking at the signings at Newcastle in the last month or so there is a lot of good experience there with guys like Tane Tu’ipulotu and the boy Alex Crockett and Rory Lawson. Those sorts of players know how to run games.
“A good ten has to have another voice outside him, and I think Jimmy Gopperth probably lacked that a bit.”
Russell is well versed in turning around the fortunes of an ailing club, having taken Hawke’s Bay from 11th place  to three consecutive ITM Cup semi-finals in five seasons.
Strangely his contract was not renewed, leaving the 49-year-old to seek new challenges.
He had an option to go to Japan but chose to pursue interest from Newcastle.
For Russell much of his work at Newcastle will be about building on the end of season renaissance enjoyed under interim boss Gary Gold.
He added: “I’ve spoken to Jimmy and a few of the other boys here in New Zealand and they all want to forget the start of the season. But they loved the back-end and how they grew as a team.
“They took some of the top sides to the wire and proved to people that they can play.”
Russell has the advantage of knowing a number of the Falcons players.  He attended Richard Mayhew’s wedding the other week and in the past he has coached Ryan Shortland at the Highlanders as well as young loose-head prop Ashley Wells, who was on a scholarship in New Zealand with Murray Mexted’s academy.
JON NEWCOMBE