By Matt Newsum

Parling, Wilson and Dowson have all confirmed their exit - who will follow?

The departure of Phil Dowson from Newcastle to Northampton could well be a watershed moment for the Falcons.

Dowson's Saints switch makes him the latest Falcons player to quit the club, following prop David Wilson and lock Geoff Parling, who will join Bath and Leicester respectively at the end of the season.

Further exits cannot be ruled out, particularly given the comments made by Toulon head coach Philippe Saint-Andre on Thursday.

He maintained that the French Top 14 side were in talks with Jonny Wilkinson's representatives about a summer move to the continent.

The significance of Dowson's departure from the club he has served for the past 10 years will not be lost on Falcons supporters.

The 27-year-old graduated from the club's academy, scored the winning try in 2004's Powergen Cup defeat of Sale at Twickenham and is the current captain of the Falcons and the England Saxons side.

In short, not a player you would allow to leave easily.

Head coach Steve Bates has stated that Dowson deserves the chance to "experience something different" which might "give him the impetus to take him to the top level".

"Phil's had a very good offer from Northampton and I think it's a great opportunity for him," Bates told BBC Newcastle.

"He's got aspirations to play at the highest level of the game and we've spoken a lot about it.

"We're sad to see him go, and Phil's decision to leave is the best route forward."

So Bates remains unfazed by the loss of three former academy graduates in Dowson, Wilson and Parling.

"It's sad to see them go, but professional sport is about all sorts of factors," he said.

"Wilson needs to get experience at tight-head, and with Carl Hayman here he won't get the chance to play regularly.

"Geoff Parling has a chance to go to one of the top clubs in European rugby and Phil has a different set of criteria.

We've got very good replacements for the players that are leaving, but we need to be certain with those details before we announce them Falcons coach Steve Bates

"Those guys have made some decisions, I respect them for it, they've been great servants and we've just got to say good luck and we'll move on."

Some supporters might argue that the club has moved backwards in terms of retaining personnel.

Last season Newcastle lost the services of Ben Woods, Saxons scrum-half Lee Dickson, and England duo Toby Flood and Mathew Tait.

This summer appears to be shaping up in a similar manner, with the possibility that the Tynesiders could lose more big-name stars.

France will be the destination for some stars of the Guinness Premiership this summer, with Wasps trio Riki Flutey (Brive), James Haskell and Tom Palmer (Stade Francais) already committed to making the move over the Channel.

They will be joining players including Brive's England international threesome of Andy Goode, Steve Thompson and Ben Cohen, as the Gallic elite take full advantage of a lack of salary cap and the plentiful euros at the disposal of club owners.

But Bates denies the Falcons are a selling club, and remains bullish about their recruitment policy.

"It depends on your evaluation of the players and how you see them fitting into what you want to do.

"From our perspective, we're comfortable with how we are at the moment, we're happy with how our recruitment is going.

"We've got some very good replacement for the players that are leaving.

"Things are going well, we need to be absolutely certain with those details before we announce them.

"I hope we'll have something to announce next week."

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