LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL - Newcastle's season of woe

In one of the closest and most competitive seasons of English Premiership rugby ever, one team stood out like a beacon - for the wrong reasons.

Newcastle Falcons have propped up the table after finishing with a dismal record of played 18, lost 18.

From the seven months from October through to May, whatever the conditions and whatever the venue, the Falcons were unable to win a single match.

There is no relegation, so Newcastle will be back for more next season, but how do they recover from being battered and bruised so badly this term?

The numbers paint a bleak picture of just how far behind the rest Newcastle were.

The Falcons had finished bottom in 2022-23, 10 points adrift of Gloucester. This time, the gap to the Cherry and Whites, who again finished second-bottom, grew to a whopping 27 points. The gap to Leicester in eighth was 40.

Newcastle scored 149 points fewer than anyone else.

Of their five bonus points, there were four losses at Kingston Park in games where they were within seven points of their opposition, while they only once scored four tries in a game. Even then, they shipped 40 points in losing to Sale Sharks.

The visit of Newcastle was the Premiership's sure thing across the season - a bonus-point win for every home side.

Rewind to last summer and expectations were not high at Kingston Park after a raft of experienced departures on the playing staff.

Head coach Alex Codling had come in to replace Dave Walder, and went down the route of youth to no immediate success.

After 11 straight losses, former England second-row forward Codling was relieved of his post in January with ex-Sale and Worcester chief Steve Diamond brought in as consultant director of rugby.

But even he was unable to stem the tide, as the team slumped to six more defeats when the Premiership resumed in March after the conclusion of the Six Nations.

There were close shaves. Fly-half Brett Connon failed to convert a try that would have drawn the game with Northampton instead of losing by two points in October.

Exeter needed a 68th-minute try to win on their trip to Kingston Park in November, while Newcastle could not take advantage of playing 17 minutes of extra time and Leicester having three players sin-binned in Diamond's second game in charge in March.

They were tell-tale signs of a team that had forgotten how to win.

One thing that is definitely in Newcastle's favour is the lack of relegation. Having finished bottom in each of the past two years, there is a chance to rebuild.

Rotherham in 2004 and London Welsh in 2015 were both winless in the same way that Newcastle have suffered this season with week after week of endless misery.

But they went down, never to return. At least the Falcons live to fight another day in rugby union's top tier.

With Diamond at the helm, there may not be miracles in the North East next season but certainly a more competitive edge.

Already, 15 players have departed. Now, Diamond's task is to rebuild ahead of the squad's return for pre-season in early July.

Never one to shirk a challenge as a player or a coach, the 55-year-old is clear in what is required in terms of recruitment.

"What we are after is people with vast experience in the Premiership or a similar competition," Diamond said after Newcastle's last game of the season.

"Hard-wearing, durable players who don't let results like we've had this season happen on a regular basis."

After a season as awful as this one, it is often hard to find too many positives. But, remarkably, one came in the loyalty of Falcons supporters.

Crowds at Kingston Park went up in 2023-24 to an average of 6,186, an increase of just over 10% from the previous campaign.

BBC Radio Newcastle commentator Dean Gray followed the Falcons home and away over the campaign and sensed it was going to be a long one.

But he looks upon the fervent support of the fanbase as a healthy sign amid a Premiership that has seen Wasps, Worcester Warriors and London Irish disappear in the past two years.

"The crowds have been really healthy and that's without the ticket prices being any cheaper," said Gray.

"People have been getting behind the team, desperate to see them win.

"The fans aren't daft, they understand the situation. The fact that the club has always lived within the budget and is very committed to the academy, that's why the crowd is so supportive.

"There has definitely been an element of 'at least we're still here' about it."