Luther Burrell joins Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons have lured Luther Burrell back to rugby union – the former England centre signing a two-year deal with the Gallagher Premiership new boys.
Burrell returns to the 15-man code after a year with Super League’s Warrington Wolves, the 32-year-old having scored four tries during his 15 England caps.
Boasting 150 Premiership appearances and a further 52 in Europe, the Yorkshireman won the Premiership title, European Challenge Cup final and Premiership Rugby Cup final during his seven years at Northampton Saints, having previously played for Leeds and Sale Sharks.
“Luther has expressed a real appetite to return to rugby union, he’s in fantastic shape and it’s great that we have been able to secure his signature,” said Newcastle Falcons director of rugby, Dean Richards.
“His calibre speaks for itself in terms of the trophies he has won and the impact he has had in the game, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming him into our squad.
“He hits some super lines in midfield, gets over the gain line and his link-up play will really bring the best out of the players around him. We have some outstanding young talent within our squad, but Luther just brings that experienced head which will help those guys to develop.”
Excited by the opportunity to join the Gallagher Premiership’s most northerly outfit, Burrell said: “It didn’t take any selling at all, to be honest.
“I met Dean Richards for a bite to eat, I could see straightaway he’s just a totally straightforward bloke, and that’s how you get the best out of me. I left that meeting, got straight on the phone and said I wanted to sign for Newcastle, and it was all sorted out remarkably quickly from there.
“I’ve not shied away from the fact I want to be back in rugby union, so to get signed up with a quality club like Newcastle is fantastic. I’m just so excited about the whole thing, and can’t wait to get stuck in when I join the squad on September 28.”
No stranger to Kingston Park Stadium after playing there on numerous occasions, the centre said: “It’ll be nice to be there as a member of the home team, because the bus trips for the away side are dreaded by most clubs!
“I’m looking forward to playing on that and really helping us to stamp our home advantage, and I can say as a visiting player it’s one of the toughest places to go and win. I’m now on the other side of that, and I can’t begin to tell you how nice it feels.”
Looking forward to working with a management group which includes Richards, Dave Walder, Nick Easter, Micky Ward, Scott MacLeod and Mark Laycock, Burrell said: “I totally buy into the coaching staff that Dean has at the Falcons, and it was definitely a factor in my decision.
“I just like the honesty around where they see me, and that’s what I need. I don’t want to be the guy on the sidelines, I want to be showing my worth to the group, and I feel like I can make a big contribution here.
“I’ve not come to have a season ticket and be sat in the stand, so I’ll be working as hard as I can to get out on the pitch. It just feels like a nice fit, and with the fast playing surface at Kingston Park and the type of players they have in the squad, I can really see it clicking.”
Glad that he tried his hand at rugby league following his stint with Warrington Wolves, he said: “I’m someone who always likes to challenge themselves, and I don’t believe in living in a comfort zone.
“Playing rugby league is something I’d always wanted to do, and in some ways it has definitely helped me. My endurance, fitness levels and aspects of my skill set are definitely better as a result of my time with Warrington, and rugby league guys really pride themselves on doing the unseen work. I’ve bought into that, I’ve got a better engine and I’m now able to apply myself more effectively around the field.
“I was a lot heavier when I played union the first time round – somewhere around 112kg – and I dropped down to around 101-ish. I’m now up to 104kg, which I think is going to be my ideal size, and I’m just excited about bringing that aspect of my game into union.
“I’ve got no regrets about going over to league, because it was the fresh challenge that I needed at the time. I’ll look back on it as a positive experience – I wanted to test myself, and I think I’ll come back as a better player for it.
“It just makes sense to choose Newcastle, because ultimately I’m a northern boy. I’m not a Geordie, admittedly, but it’s great to have that bit of northern culture in the Premiership and just being around a good group of lads. I know some of the boys there, which makes things a lot simpler for me, and I can’t wait to hit the ground running.”
Burrell becomes the Falcons’ seventh signing of the summer, following the acquisitions of Matias Orlando (Jaguares), Marco Fuser (Benetton), Louis Schreuder (Sharks), Pete Lucock (Doncaster), Tom Penny (Harlequins) and Iwan Stephens (Leeds Rhinos RL), with the club also welcoming back England back-rower Mark Wilson from his season-long loan at Sale Sharks.
The Falcons will begin their Gallagher Premiership campaign on the weekend of November 20-22, having been promoted following an unbeaten season in the Greene King IPA Championship. The Kingston Park side won every single one of their games, and were 18 points clear when the league was brought to a premature close in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments