Falcons’ glass is half full as players pull pints
Club captain Mark Wilson was among a group of more than 15 Falcons players who came in at short notice to work the Kingston Park Stadium bars, ensuring the supporters who turned out for the 24-24 draw were not left with empty glasses.
“It was a very last-minute scenario with the game being called off on Friday and moved to the Saturday,” explained the Rugby World Cup finalist, who has played more than 200 games for the Falcons.
“A lot of the regular bar staff couldn’t come in due to having other work commitments, public transport being off or other serious disruption caused by the storm, and it got to the point where the club only had something like 30 or 40% of the bar staff they needed to open up at all.
“The lads jumped in to help, the word went round on the whatsapp group that players were needed to work behind the bar and the response from the squad was really good.”
Insisting he and his club-mates will not be giving up the day job, the Falcons star added: “It was mixed ability on the pint pouring, but the lads got stuck in and I think the fans enjoyed it.
“I’ve never been on the other side of the bar before, even though my wife’s family have been running bars for years, but it was good fun in the end. It was probably a little bit more stressful than I thought it was going to be, but thankfully all our customers remained patient and I think it was well received.”
Asked to rank his compatriots’ pint-pulling prowess, Wilson said: “Connor Collett was the most committed, and took real personal pride in his Guinness.
“Mark Dormer, our senior academy prop, was very efficient, but the worst one without a shadow of a doubt was Micky Young. No energy or commitment, and just spent his whole time talking rather than pouring.
“Some of the boys maybe need a little work on differentiating between their doubles and their singles, but all joking aside it was one of those where you just have to chip in and help the club where you can.”
Newcastle Falcons’ next home game is on Saturday December 10 when Worcester Warriors return to Kingston Park Stadium in the opening round of the EPCR Challenge Cup, a game which is included in the 2021-22 season ticket membership package.
[**Click here**][1] to buy tickets for the 8pm kick-off.
*Photo caption: Mark Wilson (right) with Italian international Marco Fuser.*
[1]: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/newcastle-falcons/EDP/Event/Index/1662
