All Black exodus gathers momentum
Thu, 08 May 2008 08:48
Heading to Leicester: Craig Newby
Highlanders and Otago captain Craig Newby has confirmed he will be leaving New Zealand at the end of the year to join the Guinness Premiership club Leicester Tigers in England.
Newby, 28, first played for the Highlanders as a draft player in 2002 and subsequently transferred to Otago, making his debut for the province as captain in 2005 against the British & Irish Lions.
He will play his 66th game for the Highlanders at Carisbrook on Saturday when they take on the Blues, which Newby played for in seven games in 2001.
"I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Highlanders and Otago and living in Dunedin but I'm now at a stage where I need to secure my future overseas," he said.
Newby made his All Blacks debut against England in Auckland in 2004 and played two more Tests - against South Africa in Johannesburg in the same year and Ireland in Auckland in 2006. He is also a former New Zealand Sevens representative and was a member of the unbeaten Junior All Blacks side in 2005.
At provincial level, Newby played 19 games for Otago and is contracted to the province for this year's Air New Zealand Cup. Other teams he previously played for include North Harbour and English club side Newcastle Falcons.
Otago Rugby Football Union Chief Executive, Richard Reid, said he would be sorry to see Newby go but accepted that the overseas option was a fact of modern rugby life.
"We wish Craig all the best," Reid said.
New Zealand Rugby Union General Manager of Professional Rugby Neil Sorensen said Newby had given outstanding service to rugby in New Zealand.
"Craig is a great servant of the game and a player who has made a massive contribution to rugby on and off the field. We wish him well as he prepares for a new challenge," Sorensen said.
Newby spoke about his decision to move to Leicester, and said that the history and the spirit at the club impressed him.
"I know a lot about the history of the club and its success and that's one of the reasons I chose Leicester," says Newby, who had also been linked with other Guinness Premiership sides. "I know about the traditions of the club and how passionate the supporters are in Leicester and I'm looking forward to trying to add to that."
"To be honest, I haven't seen very much of Leicester live or on TV. We don't get much coverage of the English Premiership over in New Zealand but I've done a lot of internet work and I know a few people who've gone over to play there, like Seru and Aaron Mauger and so on.
"The way they run the club was very important to me. There's a family nature to Tigers. I've got a young family and I'm looking to add to it, so that was one of the biggest things for me, to make sure that Sally, my wife, would be happy and that my daughter, Olivia, would have a chance to experience a good early childhood in a different country. It'll be a change of lifestyle and we're looking forward to experiencing a different culture.
"I think I'll suit the English game. It's quite a physical forward style with a lot of internationals in all the squads. I hate losing and I guess that's one thing that I'll bring is a will to win."
Tigers Head Coach Marcelo Loffreda welcomed Newby's signing, as he believes the Kiwi can play an important role for the club next season.
"He is an outstanding player in Super 14 rugby and he is a leader," said Loffreda.
"He is a versatile and talented player who can play across the back row. That is important to us as we look at competition for places in the squad in three tournaments during a long season."
