Goneva will spark attacking Falcons style, says Socino
NIKI GONEVA’S blistering Fijian firepower can transform Newcastle from basement dummies into top six contenders, according to playmaker Juan Pablo Socino.
Fumbling Falcons have endured three successive 11th place finishes since winning promotion from the Championship in 2013. But Socino expects the arrival of 2013-14 Premiership top tryscorer Goneva from Leicester to make a crucial difference.
Socino told The Rugby Paper: “We’re massively excited to have Niki coming in and it’s probably one of the best signings in the Premiership anywhere this summer.
“We’re looking forward to having someone as brilliant as him around because he’s done really well for Leicester and he’ll bring a real cutting edge to our attack.
“We’re shaping up really well in the back-line and we want to have a big attacking mindset. We don’t want to kick as much as we did, we want to attack from everywhere and we’re working hard on our attacking skills to be a threat all over the park.”
Socino added: “It was another frustrating year last year because we’d had two quite similar ones before where we’d shown improvements but not won enough games, which meant we ended up battling at the wrong end of the table.
“It’s not where we want to be, but if you look at last season we had some really good performances at places like Wasps and Bath, where we should have won both.We need to finish those games off now and Niki will help us do that.”
Socino, 28, starred for Argentina at last autumn’s World Cup but is relishing a clear run at the Premiership with his Test career temporarily on hold.
“Only players playing in Argentina can be selected at the moment, but they had to do that if they were going to get players back so that the Jaguares could go into Super Rugby with as strong a team as possible,” Socino explained. “Of course you’d want to be up for selection, but in my situation I knew the rule was in place and it allowed me to enjoy the World Cup. “For me now, this is the first time in three or four years that I’m doing a full pre-season in England and I’m really excited about the new season. “I actually managed to go on holiday to Thailand with my wife and switch off for a bit, so it’s good to be going in fully fit and refreshed.” Argentina’s Jaguares failed to shine in Super Rugby, winning just four matches, but Socino insists their campaign can still be rated a success. He said: “It was tough for the guys to go from the World Cup straight into Super Rugby and there had to be a big adjustment to be made. Yes, they only won four games but a lot of boys got an opportunity to play at that level and you’ll see the benefit next year.
“When they sit down with a cool head and analyse everything, it’s all positive for Argentinian rugby.”
Socino is keen to play at inside-centre as Newcastle look to up their try-scoring rate after managing just 34 in the league last season.
He added: “I’m an option as a No.10 but I’m hoping to cement my place at insidecentre and form a good partnership with Mike Delany.
“Mike’s looking good again after his injury, Joel Hodgson’s back and Tom Catterick is a year older, so we’ve got good cover there.
“Guys like Simon Hammersley are more experienced now so if we all step up and be more consistent, we can push for the top six.”