Pat Lam could be about to rip up his recruitment playbook and bring in a big coach from outside his inner circle ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Reports are circulating that Bristol Bears are keen on adding former Newcastle Falcons head coach Dave Walder as the club’s attack coach.
Walder will leave his role as head coach of Newcastle Falcons at the end of the current campaign but has effectively been put on gardening leave after falling out with the club’s directors over recruitment and retention after seeing England prop Trevor Davidson follow hooker George McGuigan out the door in high-profile midseason moves.
Former fly-half Walder was promoted to the top job at Kingston Park in the summer following the departure of Dean Richards, but Newcastle have struggled to kick-on sitting joint bottom of the Premiership table.
Walder’s links with Bristol will spark questions over the future of current assistant coach Conor McPhillips who came with Lam from Connacht in 2017 having been part of his coaching team at the Irish province when they upset the odds to win the Pro12 title against Leinster in 2015.
Connacht are going through their own coaching restructuring with Pete Wilkins taking the reins with the rest of his staff still to be confirmed. Former Connacht captain John Muldoon, who is now forwards coach at the Bears, has also been linked with a potential return.
Since his arrival at Bristol, Lam has generally opted to promote coaches from within, with his former number eight Muldoon transitioning from playing to coaching along with current defence coach Jordan Crane, although experienced kicking coach Dave Alred was added to the backroom staff in the summer with the Bears director of rugby speaking glowingly of the value he has added.
As a player Walder made 110 appearances for the Falcons, scoring the winning try in the 2001 Tetley’s Bitter Cup final and forming an instrumental part of the side which won the 2004 Powergen Cup final.
Going on to earn domestic and European honours with Wasps before finishing his playing career with Japanese side Mitsubishi Dynaboars, Walder joined Newcastle’s coaching staff in 2014.
Initially serving as kicking skills coach, he stepped up as backs and attack coach before being promoted to head coach in 2017, earning promotion from the Championship and helping steer the Falcons to their first Gallagher Premiership semi-final.
