"I have been impressed with Aston for a while," head coach Mike Brewer said. "He is a strong scrummager and very accurate defender. He has a high work rate for a prop. I will be looking to develop his ball carrying ability and exchanges in the collision. Aston also has the added bonus in that as well as playing at loose-head he can also play hooker."

Farr-Jones led Australia to victory at the 1991 Rugby World Cup and won 63 Test caps at scrum-half.

"Nick's standing as a former Sydney University, Waratah and Wallaby captain is without question and he will bring to the board this rugby intellect as well as his outstanding legal and business skills," Will Jephcott, NSWRU chairman, said. "With the new Waratahs board concentrating specifically on the professional arm of the game, the NSWRU board is dedicated to the wellbeing of the participation and community levels of rugby in this state."

"The analysis side of things was a big part of Carl's report," Falcons boss Alan Tait told Journal Live. "And that tallied in with my feelings that we needed to bolster that area of our work.

"We weren't doing enough of this work last year, and with the planned increase there would definitely have been far too much work for one man. So Marty will work with John Stokoe and the pair of them will certainly be giving the players more to scrutinise than last year."