Scott Baldwin retires from playing to take up a Prem coaching role

Recent Wales Scott Baldwin has announced his retirement from playing with immediate effect to take up a Gallagher Premiership coaching role at Newcastle just days before his 35th birthday. The hooker made headlines earlier this year when he bridged a six-year gap dating back to his last Test cap for his country.

A 2017 selection versus Samoa in Apia was the last time he was chosen by Wales this February, Warren Gatland naming him on the Guinness Six Nations bench versus Ireland and also capping him twice more against Scotland and Italy.

Baldwin wasn’t included in the 54-strong Wales training squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup when it was named on May 1 and he has now confirmed he won’t play on next season at the Ospreys, instead deciding to take up an offer from new Falcons coach Alex Codling to take charge of the defence at Newcastle.

A statement read: “Wales hooker Scott Baldwin will complete Newcastle Falcons’ staff for the new season after signing up as defence coach. The 34-year-old has retired from playing to focus on his new role having starred for Ospreys, Harlequins, Worcester and Wales in a professional playing career spanning more than a decade.

“The most recent of Baldwin’s 37 Wales caps came during this year’s Six Nations, with the Bridgend-born front-rower packing down against Ireland, Scotland and Italy. His club career saw him playing more than 100 times in the URC and 43 in Europe as well as starting for Harlequins in their victorious 2021 Gallagher Premiership final.

“Spending last season playing for Ospreys and coaching at home club Bridgend, he completes a refreshed Newcastle Falcons management team which sees new head coach Alex Codling working with incumbents Micky Ward and Mark Laycock.”

Codling said: “I first met Scott when I was forwards coach at Harlequins, I enjoyed working him and you could see straight away he was a top professional. He has got a huge amount of experience from playing in the Premiership, URC and internationally over a number of years, and he will bring a wealth of knowledge to the role.

“During my own time working with Scott you could see he was keen to make the transition from playing to coaching, and he was one of those guys who always seemed to think like a coach. I’m looking forward to integrating him into a fantastic group here and seeing the impact he will make for the Falcons.”

Baldwin added: “Coaching is something I have been really interested in since 2017 when I started doing it at semi-pro level with Bridgend, and I just fell in love with that side of the game. That has grown more and more as time has gone on, and it’s a fascinating area in terms of the different styles of play and not just being one mould for everyone.

“It has broadened my horizons while I have been combining it with playing, and I can’t wait to get started with Newcastle. It’s been tough in a way because I know I can still play at this level, but this felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start my professional coaching career.

“I have spent a lot of time in Newcastle because my sister lived there for 20 years so we used to go up every six weeks to see her, my nieces and my brother-in-law. They are full-on Geordies, and I already feel like I have got a good connection with the area through the time I have spent up there with them.

“It’s very similar to Wales in many respects with hard-working people and good values, and professionally for me it’s a really exciting opportunity which was too good to turn down.

“It’s a talented squad with a relatively new coaching group, and I worked with Alex Codling during our time together at Harlequins. We got on really well, and we are both very much into the game in terms of talking about rugby a lot and looking into everything around it.

“You have to go into it with your eyes wide open because the Premiership is a relentless league with loads of different playing styles where every squad is incredibly talented, and you have to stay on it every week. All the clubs are in the same country which is a change from the URC from a travel perspective, although we will obviously have some long bus trips with being situated up in the North East.

“In the URC the Welsh derbies feel a bit special because they are not that common, but in the Premiership it’s like that every week where you are up against boys you know, and some of the best players in the world. The Falcons have obviously got a really strong Argentinean contingent as well as all their local talent, and it will be really good tapping into all the various groups with everything they bring to the table

“I love defence, and I have been very fortunate to work with some of the best defence coaches in the world in Shaun Edwards, Steve Tandy and Paul Gustard. From playing against Newcastle on numerous occasions the thing that always sticks in my mind is the fact they are always a hard team to beat. As a defence coach when you know a team is going to work incredibly hard for each other – that is a great starting point, and there is a lot you can build around that.

“There will obviously be some fine tuning around the system and the specifics of how things work, but the biggest thing is just building connections with players. That is what I have always enjoyed about coaching, and when you have that relationship with a coach, you will go that extra mile for them.”