Lovely Luke let's us into a few secrets

RFTG Susie spent some time recently getting to know more about Newcastle Falcon's Luke Fielden. Here's what she founf out.

1) What first got you interested in playing rugby?

 My Dad started taking me around the age of nine, probably because I had too much energy or something! I was already interested in rugby because my dad had played so he took me to mini-rugby on a Sunday and it all started from there really.

2) You've previously played lower level rugby, making the transition from Championship to premiership club last year. Have you found it relatively easy or was it difficult to adjust to?

 It was difficult yes. I'd never played full-time rugby so it was quite a shock to the system to train every day and it took me a bit of time to get up to speed with fitness and strength requirements. In our old club, pre-season we got messed around quite a bit and games would get called off at the last minute and obviously none of that happens here. it's taken a bit of time to step up to this level and it's taken a lot of getting used to. Obviously I'm playing against bigger, stronger people but then to counteract that, I'm now playing with better players myself, so it works both ways.

3) How do you aim to keep the reputation you gained from Bedford as a prolific try-scorer now you're playing for the Falcons?

 Well playing on the wing my main role is to be the person scoring so I just want to get involved as much as I can, try to get as much ball as possible and keep scoring.

4) Friday's match against Sale, you came back from 19-9 down to draw 19-19. What were your feelings about Sale being awarded a try after the clear knock on in the penultimate phase?

 It's just one of those things. Obviously it was very frustrating and it would be an annoying decision for anyone when it goes against you, especially when it was one of those games where it could have gone to the video ref but they chose not to. But at the same time we shouldn't look back and think that's all it was. We should have won the game ourselves and there were lots of other things that went on which prevented that from happening.

5) It's been reported that quite a few of the younger members will be playing this Friday. You're playing at home...putting out a young squad....are you confident on a win?

 We went over to Montpellier at the beginning of the season and took a bit of a beating in the second half. That seems to be something that happens a lot with us, we go in really confident but lose it in the second half, it seems to be our story of the season! We've got some quality young players, they're very confident and the French have a reputation of not travelling all that well so hopefully we'll do what they did to us and give them a good beating!

6) Dave Thompson, Chairman of Newcastle, has said he's not too concerned about being sucked into another relegation battle. Are the squad feeling the pressure or is everyone just focused on each match as it comes?

 There's not that much talk of relegation, we're just focused on each match and preparing for each team differently. The result is that this is all in our control so all we need is a string of wins. So no, there's no great worries, we're purely focused on the next game week in week out.

7) Euan Murray's recently signed a two and a half year contract, how's he settling in?

 Really well.He's a great signing, a proven international and British Lion. He's a great lad, gets on really well with everyone plus it's a statement from the club by securing such a player. We're clearly a team wanting to go places.

8) Who's the most influential person in your rugby career?

 Probably my coach at Cambridge, James Shanahan. We still have weekly contact and he's a good friend of mine. He really helped develop me as a player.

9) What's been the proudest moment of your rugby career so far?

 Getting a Premiership contract probably. There was a time when I thought I might have missed the boat, seeing as I was 25 when I first secured the contract. Looking back I was never sure it was going to happen, so yeah that was a pretty proud day. Everything I'd aspired to had finally come to fruition.

10) What are your future and immediate goals?

 My immediate is to keep getting selected every week, play as much as I can and as well as I can, plus just keep performing consistently at a high level. My future goals would be to play for as long as I can and to be possibly be called up for the England Saxons but I'm not going to get beyong myself. My focus is just to concentrate on where I am now, everything else is just an added bonus.

Quick Fire:

Early mornings/Late nights: Late nights.

Weights/Cardio: Cardio.

Summer/Winter: Summer.

Blondes/Brunettes: Brunettes.

Beer/Spirits: Spirits.

Comedy/Action: Comedy.

Blackberry/Iphone: Blackberry.

Nights in/Nights out: Nights in.

Favourites:

Film: Great Country For Old Men.

Book: The Game.

Television Programme: I wouldn't say I had a favourite but I watched Tool Academy the other night and that was pretty good!

Holiday destination: France.

Sport other than rugby: Golf.

Food: Thai.

Band/Type of music: Soft rock probably.