I AM immensely proud to have finished my professional career as a ‘one-club man’ after playing 270 games for the team I supported as a boy. To get to fourth on the Falcons’ alltime appearance list is great especially with the company I am keeping. My good mate Will Welch has 275 appearances and could potentially have gone on and got 350 had he decided not to retire this year; Tom May is an absolute legend who was someone I was thrilled to play with and looked up to; and top of the lot, Micky Ward, is, of course, a Geordie hero.
I did come very close to leaving the club twice, for Northampton on each occasion. The first time was when I was about 21 and Jim Mallinder was in charge at Saints. It was very tempting but at that age I was established at Newcastle and starting week in, week out and I felt that, potentially, I might be stuck behind Bruce Reihana and not get much game time. I nearly went down there again, a bit later on, but, for whatever reason, I had a last-minute chat with Dean (Richards) and managed to stay.
I obviously have a great affinity with Newcastle but I don’t know if the club has fulfilled its full potential and, to be honest, I don’t know if I as a player fulfilled my potential. Who knows what would have happened had I decided to move away and taken a different path. Most of my time at Newcastle was spent fighting relegation but, for one glorious season (2017-18), we reached the play-offs and lost to a very good Exeter side down at Sandy Park in the semi-finals. More on the secret of that success in a bit…
Denne historien er fra May 21, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra May 21, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.
