News

Amesbury loving northern lights

July 29 2009

Newcastle new boy Charlie Amesbury has spoken of the momentum being generated by a new-look Falcons as the Guinness Premiership season draws closer.

The 23-year-old winger joined early in the off-season from Harlequins as the first of seventeen summer acquisitions, with the England Sevens pace man insisting the squad is headed firmly in the right direction.

"I've really enjoyed my time here so far under the guidance of another new addition to the club, Andy Smith from the Scottish national team, who has taken over the conditioning side of things," said Amesbury.

"Andy and his team have run a really professional pre-season with the way they've structured everything, and I've taken to Newcastle both as a city and as a club. I had a good introduction to the local way of life from Alex Tait and Danny Williams, who showed me a few sights, and I'm sharing a house with Chris Micklewood now, which is good fun.

"It's fair to say I'm still getting my bearings, especially after last Friday when I was searching for the Royal Marines base on the Newcastle Quayside, and I somehow ended up in South Shields, which is not only five miles away, but on the wrong side of the river!"

Amesbury will be competing against Danny Williams and fellow new man Tom Biggs for a starting berth this year and expanding on the squad's progress throughout the summer months, he added.

"The pre-season has certainly been different from what I've experienced before, but I've really enjoyed it and feel like I'm in great condition," the wing said.

"We've mixed things up by doing sessions with an American football team and the Newcastle Eagles basketball coach, as well as our weekly yoga training and a day with the Royal Marines last week.

"Obviously we're doing our normal weights and conditioning in addition to these things, but the variety of our training is keeping everybody fresh and focused as we start to get more in to the rugby stuff."

With the Falcons last week learning from some of the best in the business, Amesbury explained the schedule they undertook during their short spell with the latter.

"If ever there's a team in the world that needs to win, it's the Royal Marines," he continued.

"If they lose then the consequences aren't even worth thinking about, so it was great to spend the whole day with those guys and learn from how they work together as a team.

"In the morning we did a classroom session with them and set down our team ethos and motto for the season, and the way the class was structured really got the guys working well with one another to direct our thoughts the same way.

"The activities we did in the afternoon were a lot of fun and, again, great for the teamwork aspect, and then in the evening we had a few beers as a group, which is also important."