Tom Christie reveals the grand plans he traded his All Blacks 'dream' for

Tom Christie, a serial winner of trophies in New Zealand rugby, has an unwavering belief he can bring silverware to Newcastle Red Bulls by turning the whipping boys of English rugby into title contenders.

Tom is captain of a squad featuring 25 new players that is attempting to achieve something unique in English rugby and while there are signs of real improvement, they have yet to win after two games this season and head to Exeter Chiefs as an unproven commodity.

A successful rebrand has added the club to the Red Bull sporting stable, with Christie, one of the first significant signings a year ago, cast in the role of poster boy for the squad. Only Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby has attempted to build a new team and compete in a major competition and they are no longer with us.

Christie, a three-time Super Rugby title winner with the Crusaders, was signed by Steve Diamond during his period in charge after former All Black Dan Braid recommended the hard-working flanker to the North East club, who finished bottom of the league four seasons in a row.

Christie, who helped New Zealand U20 inflict a record 64-17 final defeat on England U20 at the 2017 World Cup, signed a two-year contract that runs out in August next year but he is quick to hammer home the point that this is a long-term commitment, not a handy pay cheque before a flight home to Christchurch with fiancée Sophie.

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Exeter Chiefs

07:00

11 Oct 26

Newcastle

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He told RugbyPass: “I am not shying away from the fact we have full intentions of being here for what’s to come in the future.

“It’s a massive honour to lead this club and I want to lift silverware. I want to be part of this Newcastle team when we win the PREM and compete with the best in Europe. That is the big goal and what we are working towards.”

For long-suffering Newcastle fans, those are encouraging words and the 24-19 loss to Leicester last weekend showed signs the team can be truly competitive without, as yet, threatening the top four.

With so many new faces, what gives Christie, 28, the belief that Newcastle are going to cast off their ‘also-rans’ tag?

“We are a team with no limits in terms of where we can get to and we are still in the learning stage, figuring each other out and our game, finding out what works best for us,” explained the former New Zealand U20 captain, who played alongside current All Blacks Will Jordan and Caleb Clarke.

“It can be quite daunting if you are looking through a wide lens all the time and so if I can get one per cent better every day and help the team get one per cent better then we are going to be in a better place tomorrow.

“Everyone wants to play for the All Blacks and chase that dream for as long as possible and we certainly did that for seven or eight seasons in New Zealand but there are other exciting challenges out there and other things you can fix on. At that point of my career, we were happy to step out of the New Zealand environment and try something new.

“It is exciting to be establishing a team in what is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Before I came over here I expected the PREM to be a much slower style of rugby compared to Super Rugby with a lot of more territory kicking game with big packs, very good defensive teams and it still has a lot of those elements but teams want to play a fast style of game and move the ball around.

“Defences are really being tested because attack is going to a new level and that makes it great to watch but challenging for players because the tempo of the game means ball-in-play time is higher. It is a good brand of rugby and the PREM is one of the leading forces.

“The league is in a sweet spot at the moment, still having that physicality and big hits but also ball in play is starting to creep up higher and higher.”

A pre-season that included a period at the Red Bull headquarters in Austria helped the squad understand that they were part of something bigger than just a world-famous logo and popular energy drinks company.

It was, according to Christie, important for the squad to embrace this to ensure everyone is pulling in the right direction.

“You see all of the branding around Kingston Park and you may not have an attachment to it but once you go over to Austria you are fully immersed and that grows and you feel connected to the brand.

“It flows into what we want to be as a team and why we want to play a certain way and you believe in the process, particularly those longer training sessions where it was physically demanding and you understand the ‘why’ behind it.”

Christie and Sophie were given the heads-up about life in England by great friend Fergus Burke, who had joined Saracens a year earlier, although their knowledge of Newcastle was limited to episodes of Geordie Shore, the reality television series.

He added: “I did watch Geordie Shore and obviously there are elements but there is so much more to Newcastle as a city. It is a really warming environment and community and that has made it so homely for us. Being so far away from family and close relatives, the people have made it feel like home.

“With 25 new players it’s really important the wives, partners and family feel included and part of the club and anyone in any industry will relate to that. When your family feels settled it makes life so much easier to play good rugby. I am still waiting for our boys from Argentina to get on the barbecue to cook up the meat.”

Moving to Newcastle has already worked its magic, with Christie proposing to Sophie during their two-week holiday in Italy and Greece this summer and his parents are currently visiting. European travel was one of the big draws for the couple and they have a list of future trips – rugby allowing.

“We got engaged in Florence on a winery in Tuscany and all the big life decisions appear to be happening for us.”

For Red Bulls fans, Christie’s commitment to the rebuild is crucial as he forms a formidable all-Kiwi back row with All Black Hoskins Sotutu and flanker Max Hicks, who joined from Perpignan. Like the rest of the squad, they are learning to play effectively together, with Exeter Chiefs the next major test.

Christie knows the road ahead will be tough but is up for the fight. He said: “The fact that Exeter haven’t won a game yet shows how competitive the PREM is. We are excited because it is another chance to punch above our weight and put a marker in the sand.”