England centre Jamie Noon is one of growing group of Newcastle players in Brian Ashton, he talks to www.rucked.com
Newcastle Falcons are fast taking over England…
Yeah there’s four of us now which it is quite nice, it makes a nice change. For a while there was just Jonny, then I came on board, then Jonny was out injured and now we’re all in.
You’ve been involved with England for a while, nicely settled in?
No I wouldn’t say that, you can’t really settle when there’s so many young and even old players flying around showing real form and all desperate to play for England. That’s the beauty of it though, there’s always someone striving for a place, so there’s always competition.
Has the competition changed much since you’ve been involved? How long is that by the way?
Six or seven years. I don’t know about my position because there’s always a lot of competition from a lot of different areas and a lot of young guys coming through. Look at the team we’re putting out at the weekend, there’s possibly new caps there and it’s quite exciting. I suppose it was inevitable that that [new caps] was going to happen what with the World Cup and guys retiring or moving on. But these young guys need to get experience before the next World Cup.
How much are you enjoying it all?
I love playing for England, I love being involved in the England set-up, it helps you better yourself as a player, you always learn and they’ve got a great coaching staff. Even on the medical side it’s top-notch, whenever you get even the slightest niggle you get treated very, very well. It’s something that anyone involved in England over the years has enjoyed.
Is it really that much tougher than club rugby?
It is quite a big step up, you play with and against the best players in the world. While you do play against sides with a few internationals with your club, at this level it’s class and quality throughout. It’s all about the one per centers – the guys who add that extra bit to either be able to something different or give someone else an opportunity in a game. It’s a little bit quicker too and the decision-making time is that little bit shorter. It’s very physical too and not just because of the pace – it’s the size of the players, there’s a lot of big guys flying around. More and more focus is being laid to the physical side. It used to be in the backs you’d play against guys of a similar size, guys who were lighter and quicker but Italy had some seriously big guys in the backline. Nowadays, they’re bigger, stronger and quicker.
Who do you rate in your position?
I think a lot of good players are playing well, Ollie Smith at Leicester is one. I can’t go through them all, but you’ve also got Mat Tait who’s on the bench, he played for England at 13 last year and I’m sure he wants to get back in there. There’s a load of players chomping at the bit to get in…
Does it help to play alongside guys from your club?
To a certain degree because I can read off them, likewise they understand my strengths and can make sure you get into the game. I guess sometimes it’s more relaxing to have them in front of you because you’ve played together so many times that you understand them and know they’re there. If you play with someone you don’t know it can make it a little bit awkward at times.
Wales picked 13 Ospreys against you…
Yeah, I don’t reckon that’s always best policy, you’ve got to go for guys in form, but if it’s a close call, l might go with colleagues – especially in key positions…
How come Newcastle seem to have factory line of backs?
I’m sure, obviously we’ve got a great coaching set-up with John Fletcher and academy director Richard Metcalfe. I’m not sure whether we’re better at it than anyone else or not, there’s a lot of good young players coming through at every club. I know we’ve had a few big signings but in the past Newcastle haven’t been a club that’s always bought players, it’s important to bring them through. A lot of players have moved on but we’ve always a good set of young backs. We’ve always given youngsters an opportunity at Newcastle.
It must help raise the profile of rugby in the north east?
Yeah I assume so, the only problem is that the times we’re here [with England] the club are missing four of their starting backline. That’s sometimes quite hard for the side to be losing key players but at least it gives other guys an opportunity.
What’s the aim at Newcastle this year?
I think we’re trying to get in the top six, and qualify for Europe. We’re still in the European Challenge Cup so we could qualify through that – the Heineken Cup’s definitely the main goal.
How’s Jonny been dealing with all the press attention of late?
It’s not the first time he’s had problems or the first time he’s had issues with people saying things about – he’s always been in the spotlight and always will be.
Should he be in the side?
I don’t know, it’s not my call, if it was my call I’d be playing all the time! He’s not playing as bad as everyone says, he’s played some good stuff, he played well against Italy and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so.