Moment in Time: Walder flies in under the radar to lift Falcons

Little did supporters of Newcastle Falcons realise it at the time, but this supremely riotous Twickenham cup final would represent the high water mark of a remarkable seven-year run of success which current followers would kill for. A Premiership title in 1998 had been followed by a dramatic 30-27 Senior Cup final victory over Harlequins in 2001. But this all-Northern slug-fest, one of the greatest cup finals of all time, was truly an occasion to savour.
The sides had encountered contrasting fortunes on their way to HQ. While Sale had been forced to battle past three Premiership sides in Leicester, Saracens and Leeds, the Falcons had done it rather more easily thanks to the draw, the vagaries of the English weather and one of the greatest cup upsets of all time which had removed one of the pre-tournament favourites.
“I think our name was on the trophy before we got to Twickenham,” Newcastle fly-half Dave Walder recalls. “First up we played Rotherham, who hadn’t won a game all season, and beat them comfortably. Then we drew London Irish at home and their flight to Newcastle was affected by snow. They got diverted to Edinburgh and had to take a coach, so by the time they arrived there was only half-an-hour to spare and a few of their boys were feeling queasy.
“Our fans had cleared the snow and (rugby director) Rob Andrew refused to delay the kick-off, meaning we started the game well and eventually beat them 24-12. The following day Wasps were playing Pertemps Bees, with us due to play the winner. We were all expecting Wasps but Birmingham pulled off the shock and suddenly things opened right up for us.
“At the start of the season we’d actually targeted the Powergen Cup, so things worked out perfectly. Our cup win in 2001 had come about more by luck than judgement, but in ’04 we set out to win it knowing it was probably our best route into the Heineken Cup. We were a good side but weren’t consistent enough in the league, so we knew this was our big chance. We defeated Birmingham comfortably and went to London confident of beating Sale.”
Sale had something to say about that, of course. The Cheshire outfit had been building a team to be reckoned with, and with Charlie Hodgson approaching his peak, and devastating runners like Jason Robinson, Mark Cueto and Steve Hanley offering huge threats, the warning signs were clear. Newcastle were without World Cup-winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, too, but Andrew kept his injury under wraps.
Walder explained: “All the talk in the media beforehand had been about Jonny v Charlie, but I knew two weeks before that I’d be starting. We just let them think Jonny might make it and it allowed me to come in under the radar a bit. In the end, Jonny was a water boy and I had a very good game. Our forwards came out of the blocks firing and we took an early lead.”
Warren Britz’s quick try for Falcons was countered by a lightning score from Hanley and the tone for a nip-and-tuck encounter was set. Sale led 13-10 at the break but outstanding No.8 Hugh Vyvyan restored Newcastle’s lead shortly after the restart and all hell ensued. ‘You score one, we score one’ seemed to be the mantra as tries and kicks were traded with abandon.
The game finally appeared set to go Sale’s way when Hodgson put his side 33-30 ahead with just minutes remaining. But Newcastle came again and after the heroic Vyvyan had charged down Hodgson’s clearance kick, Falcons were awarded a five-metre scrum from which Phil Dowson crashed over for the winning score. But still the drama was not over.
Walder added: “I converted Dowse’s try but they came back and put us under huge pressure. I’d had a good day with the boot but still had to put in what even to this day, I believe, was my best ever kick. I was in our in-goal area, five-metres from the touchline and I somehow managed to get it to near halfway. We kept them there and the relief at the whistle was huge.”
WHERE ARE THEY NOW – NEWCASTLE’S CLASS OF 2004
1. Ian Peel: Retired in 2005 through a neck injury but has forged a successful coaching career with the RFU‘s National Academy.
2. Nick Makin: Joined Cornish Pirates that summer but quit rugby in 2007. Is now executive director of commodities at London firm Armstrong International.
3. Micky Ward: Joined Blaydon in 2011, where he is now director of rugby. Still going strong in their front row and also coaches the scrum at Newcastle.
4. Garath Archer: Retired that summer and went on to star in British Rowing. Is now a tanker broker for north-east firm ICAP.
5. Stuart Grimes: Joined Borders in 2006 but returned to Falcons as forwards coach in 2008. Now works as a chartered surveyor.
6. Jon Dunbar: Joined Leeds that summer, then had a spell in Italy with GRAN Parma before retiring in 2011.
7. Warren Britz: Returned to South Africa in 2006 to play for the Sharks, then spent three years in France with Montpellier. Is now a director of USN in France and Mogo Sport SA.
8. Hugh Vyvyan: Joined Saracens that summer where he remained until retiring in 2012. Stayed on at the club and is now in charge of hospitality and events sales.
9. James Grindal: Joined Leicester in 2009, where he played for three years before moving to Bristol. Club captain for 2013-14.
10. Dave Walder: Joined Wasps in 2006, where he spent five years before heading to Japan. Returned earlier this year and now coaches at Newcastle, Percy Park, Royal Grammar School and Durham University.
11. Michael Stephenson: Moved to Bath in 2005, where he spent five years before ending his career at Leeds in 2012. Is now a territory manager for De Puy Mitek.
12. Mark Mayerhofler: Returned to New Zealand that summer and became an analyst with North Harbour. Now a senior acquisition manager for Chorus NZ, Auckland.
13. Jamie Noon: Joined Brive in 2010 but retired this summer. Has remained in France.
14: Tom May: Joined Toulon in 2009, before returning to play for Northampton two years later. Recently signed for London Welsh.
15. Joe Shaw: Left Newcastle in 2007 and enjoyed a lengthy stint in Hong Kong rugby before returning last summer to coach the Saracens academy.
Replacements
Marius Hurter (for Peel): Returned to South Africa and is now a banker in Cape Town.
Matt Thompson (for Makin): The sole survivor of the 2004 team still playing for Newcastle.
Craig Hamilton (for Archer): Joined Edinburgh in 2005, then had a spell in France with Tarbes from 2011. Believed to be back in Scotland.
Phil Dowson (for Britz): Joined Northampton in 2009, where he continues to play.
Hall Charlton (for Grindal): Joined Blaydon in 2011, where he is now assistant coach. Also coaches the No.9s at Falcons.
Daryl Lilley (for Shaw): Had a spell at Viadana before heading home to New Zealand, where he played and coached Taranaki.