Chick will not quit Falcons to further his England case
CALLUM Chick has spent more than half his 25 years at Newcastle and believes staying with his hometown club will not stifle his ambition to add to the two England caps he won last year.
Chick has trained with the England squad during the Six Nations and is one of four Falcons to have been capped in the last year along with Trevor Davison, Jamie Blamire and Adam Radwan.
“I grew up watching Newcastle and am proud to play for the club,” said Chick, who made his 100th appearance for the Falcons yesterday. “I made my debut six years ago and the century has crept up on me.
“Newcastle used to have a stereotype that you would not get picked for England if you played for the club, but that is not the case now. It is a fantastic set-up with a a successful academy and it is growing the game in the area. You do not have to leave to get capped.
“The north-east is football mad, but it was always rugby for me. I was quite chunky as a seven-year old and soccer was not my game. My first year was not that good, but as soon as we started contact work, I enjoyed it and have not looked back.”
Chick made his England debut at No.8 against the United States last summer and came on as a replacement the following week against Canada for the second row Harry Wells.
“I have loved every minute of my time with England,” said Chick. “It is an intense environment and Eddie Jones works you hard, but you learn quickly that he is someone who understands the game better than most.
“His knowledge is outstanding and you can only grow as a player in that environment. The media can say what they want about him, but when you are in camp you see the real Eddie. I guess good news does not sell.
“When you see him coaching you get to appreciate how good he is. I had a conversation with him before the Six Nations about what I need to work on and with the World Cup 18 months away, there is a lot to play for.”
Chick’s first priority is to get Newcastle moving back up the table. This season has followed the pattern of 2020-21, a fast start followed by a bout of Covid in the club that brought the momentum that had been built up to a juddering halt.
They started the current round of matches just one point above the bottom club Worcester. Even withrelegation suspended, no club wants the stigma of finishing below everyone else.
“It has been a frustrating period with things not going our way,” said Chick, “but we can pick it up. We have not taken our opportunities and discipline has let us down at times, but we have also shown how competitive we are in a league of the highest quality.
“We are confident we can put things right and I have belief in the squad we have. We are more than capable of digging ourselves out of this hole.”