By NICK POWELL

TOM Varndell has been “sad” to witness Newcastle’s form at the start of the season and feels the league must urgently improve its governance to ensure the game is not wiped out in the north of England. Despite new coach Alex Codling admitting they would be playing this season on limited resources, the Falcons made a promising start to the campaign in the Premiership Cup as they won four of their five games and finished second in Pool B. But a 60-7 defeat to Leicester in their penultimate match of that competition indicated ominous signs for the...