Falcon loving the Super ‘buzz’
Talking to Tiaan Falcon, you can see why he made a potentially chaotic Super Rugby debut look like a breeze.
He holds eye contact right throughout the entire interview, speaks in polite and clear tones, with a confidence that is not easily misplaced for arrogance.
So rewind to the Chiefs’ second match of the season, where injuries have seen the 20-year-old placed on the bench for a crucial Kiwi derby against the Blues at Eden Park.
Only thing is, fullback Shaun Stevenson goes down in the warmup. The coaching staff can opt to keep their star man Damian McKenzie at his new spot of first five-eighth and shuffle the outside backs, but instead they choose to send McKenzie to the back and have faith in Falcon to run the cutter, with just 10 minutes’ notice before kickoff.
And the kid doesn’t let them down, looking quite assured in a 70-minute stint which leads his side to a 27-21 victory.
‘‘I guess I took a few moments to calm myself and get my head around things,’’ Falcon said of his induction. ‘‘But at the end of the day it’s rugby, it’s just a game, and I’ve been playing that since I was four years old.
‘‘I’m a pretty cruisy fella.’’ Another start at 10 comes in the win over the Bulls in Hamilton last Friday, and it’s a challenging 64 minutes where Falcon gets a taste of just how on-song a team has to be against an opposition who have come to play. It sure is a step up from NPC level, where he’s been with Hawke’s Bay the past two seasons.
‘‘You definitely notice the intensity,’’ he said. ‘‘The game’s a lot quicker, and if you don’t make decisions straight away, if you’re a bit hesitant, then on attack, and defence, the opportunity will slip.’’
Falcon is essentially just keeping the first-five seat warm for McKenzie, and it’s yet to be seen whether he gets another crack on Saturday against the Sunwolves in Tokyo. But getting this match experience early in his first season of a two-year contract bodes well.
’’Being a kid watching rugby in New Zealand, I’ve always dreamed of playing Super Rugby,’’ he said. ‘‘So to be able to play it, with a good bunch of boys - we’ve got some great leaders in the team that have really helped me out - I’ve been coping with the step up. ‘‘And it’s just been a real good fun time, and I just love the buzz of being out there, and soaking it all up really.’’