YOUNG GUNS

These are heady days for Newcastle back rowers following Mark Wilson’s success with England and, after recently making his first team debut against Exeter in the Premiership Cup, another young Falcon looking to hit the heights is Blyth-born Tom Marshall.

Just turned 19 and having progressed through the ranks at Blyth RFC before being inducted into Newcastle’s Gosforth academy two years ago, Marshall represented England U18s against France and Wales last season and is now looking to step up into the U20s.

Described by former England U18s head coach John Fletcher as having “the best awareness around supporting the ball player of any low number player I coached,” Marshall is the latest locally produced back rower looking to make it big at Kingston Park. In Wilson, Callum Chick and Will Welch, he has three exceedingly good role models to lean on for advice.

Marshall said: “There’s a great feeling around the club at the moment after some really good results in Europe and the Premiership Cup and it’s really inspiring to see local guys like Callum Chick coming through the ranks having followed a similar pathway to me.

“He’s performing on the big stage now and seeing what Mark Wilson’s doing with England right now is great for the Falcons as well. It shows that the club’s capable of kicking people on to bigger things and a huge target for me this season is to make the England U20s.

“Guys like Mark and our captain, Will Welch, have got a lot of time for the academy guys here, which is great because when you first join you think you’re at the bottom of the ladder and need to learn the ropes, but they really encourage us younger boys to join in.

“You’re pretty nervous at first but I did quite a lot of work with Mark when I was in the U18s and he helped review my games, so that made things a lot easier.”

Having started his career as a No.10 at Blyth, Marshall recalls: “I played in the backline quite a lot at school as well, but when I got to the U14s I realised I wasn’t quite going to be quick enough so I moved into the forwards. I’ve been a back rower ever since and although No.8 is probably my preferred position, I think I’ll probably end up as a six or seven.

“I played Rugby League, rowed a bit and there was also a time when football might have been an option after I made the county side whilst playing as a kid for Blyth Spartans, but realistically I was never going to make it so rugby became my focus.”

Marshall, who is also dual-registered at Tynedale, adds: “I’m quite a good ball player and I think my decisionmaking under pressure is pretty decent. I’ve got good hands and enjoy tackling, where my numbers are quite high. It was great to make my first team debut against Chiefs the other week and, hopefully, I can really start to move my career on.”

NEALE HARVEY