Falcons tap into Warriors' culture

Shaun Wane’s men have spent three-days at the Falcons’ Kingston Park as part of their pre-season preparations, and Newcastle lock-forward Calum Green has said players from the 15-man code will borrow from Wigan’s culture.

He said: “Wigan are a top rugby league team and have been for many decades, so it’s good to see how they go about their work.

“Attitude and culture are so important in team sports, and it has been interesting seeing how they run things on that side. If you can take little bits and add them to your own preparation it gives you a new perspective, so from that side it has been great.

“For my own position in the second row there might not be too many direct similarities but the sports in general do have a lot in common, and you can always learn new things.”

The Falcons face Aviva Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs this Sunday, and have spent time this week sharing facilities and ideas with Warriors following time they spent with Castleford Tigers last season.

Falcons Director of Rugby Dean Richards also said his club will be using methods picked-up from Wigan in the future.

“People will say they’re two very different codes, and rightly so, but you can certainly carry elements from one to the other,” he said.

“It’s always interesting when you have a cross-pollination of ideas, and I’m a big rugby league fan. I love watching it and there are definitely bits and pieces you can pick up from the game.

“We’ve found it interesting listening to their philosophy on certain things, how they go about their training, and hopefully they’ve also taken on board parts of what we do ourselves.”