Newcastle were the only Premiership club to sack their head coach mid-season last year and the Falcons were at it again last month when Alex Codling left Kingston Park a mere six months after arriving.
The suspension of the threat of relegation has promoted stability, but finishing bottom of the pile still highlights failure.
Codling, who guided Oyonnax to the Top 14 last season, knew what he was taking on: a club spending below the reduced salary cap that prioritised development from within over expensive recruits. He fulfilled the brief by giving the likes of Ben Redshaw, Louie Johnson an...