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Newcastle's Kiwis gearing up

August 06 2009

Much of Newcastle's forthcoming season hope rests on a pair of New Zealanders: tighthead prop Carl Hayman and fly-half Jimmy Gopperth.

While Hayman has become a fixture in the Newcastle black and white, Gopperth will be making his first appearances this season after a move from the Blues in the aftermath of the Super 14.

Hayman will captain Newcastle - his first ever run-out with the captain's armband - when they face Ulster on August 21 in a pre-season friendly.

"It's a new challenge for me because I've never captained a club before, but it's an exciting thing to be involved with," said Hayman, the 29-year-old who earned global acclaim with his 45 All Black caps as the best number three in the world.

"Whilst I haven't captained a team at professional level I've generally always been a senior player, so those aspects of leadership aren't all that foreign to me.

"Obviously being the official club captain is a bit of an extra step up from there, but I'm familiar with what it takes to lead a side and I'm loving the challenge of it.

"I've been fortunate enough to play under some great captains, and the names that probably spring to mind there are guys like Tana Umaga with the All Blacks, and then Anton Oliver and Kelvin Middleton with Otago.

"They all had their own style and their own personalities, so you learn things off each and just combine it with your own attributes."

There's been quite a turnover of players at Newcastle, leading many to believe the club might struggle to stay up this season. But Hayman reckons there will be a surprise from the north-east.

"We've had about six to eight weeks together so far, and everybody has fitted in really well. There's already the beginnings of a real team culture here, and the work we're doing in training reflects that," he said.

"Leeds will be a good test for us, because they've had a year out of the Guinness Premiership to have a good think about things.

"They'll be fired-up to put on a good display at home on the first weekend, but we're a confident bunch of players here who would back ourselves against anybody."

Gopperth thinks he might be able to offer something a little different to his predecessor at Newcastle: a certain Mr. Wilkinson.

"I like to express myself and have fun," he told BBC Newcastle.

"Jonny was here and he's an outstanding player but my game is run first, kick second, run, pass then kick.

"I'm not coming into a set culture, I'm one of 17 new players so we've got a new culture and environment and everyone's on the same sort of playing level.

"I think it's the best way to be, everyone's got to learn about each other and how each other plays but no team's going to know how we play.

"It'll take us time to gel together but hopefully it will come soon and I'm very positive about the year."