Newcastle Red Bulls have announced that head coach Alan Dickens is leaving the club with immediate effect.
The club said in a statement that Dickens was due to leave at the end of the season but an agreement has been reached allowing him to “pursue other opportunities”.
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He joined Newcastle in the summer of 2024 to work under director of rugby Steve Diamond, but was promoted to head coach after Diamond left after one game this season.
Red Bulls’ current senior assistant coach and former Wales flyback Stephen Jones has been appointed as head coach until the end of the season.
Dickens, who previously coached Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers and England Under-20s, has managed just one win in nine Premier League games in charge, with Newcastle United bottom of the table, five points behind Harlequins.
But he did lead Newcastle out of the Challenge Cup group and into an attractive last-16 tie with French giants La Rochelle next month.
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However, while the Red Bulls signed a number of new players in January to bolster their squad for next season, there has been no talk about Dickens’ future.
He also revealed that Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, who serves as Red Bull’s rugby adviser, told him in a phone call that he would not be staying.
But with eight Prem games and one Challenge Cup match remaining, Dickens is gone.
Wales great Jones takes over as head coach for the first time
Jones, a veteran with more than 100 caps for Wales and two tours with the British and Irish Lions, arrived at Kingston Park in December as senior assistant coach with responsibility for defense and attack.
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He has spent more than a decade as an attacking coach with the Welsh national team, Wasps and Scarlets, as well as with Moana Pacifica’s Super Rugby side, but this will be his first time as a head coach.
Jones’ first game in charge will be away to current Premier League leaders Northampton Saints on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
