Brookes ready for the fight at Exeter
Dec 6 2010 by Mark Smith, The Journal
KIERAN Brookes insists his conversion from prop-forward to hooker is only temporary, as Newcastle Falcons prepare for Saturday’s trip to Exeter.
The 20-year-old started at hooker in Leicester a fortnight ago, as injuries ravaged the Falcons’ front-row stocks.
Rob Vickers, Joe Graham and Matt Thompson were all sidelined for the Welford Road encounter, but with Graham now on the comeback trail and Scottish loan signing Sean Crombie on the books, Brookes is hopeful of a swift return to propping duties.
“I played a bit of hooker at school, but it’s been more just as temporary cover rather than anything I want to pursue longer term,” he said, despite having shown up well during his stint in the No 2 shirt.
“Hopefully we’re starting to get our hookers back over the next couple of weeks, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the tight-head reckoning once those guys are back and available for selection.”
Brookes said: “Compared to tight-head you’re right in the middle of it at hooker, and you have to really lead the front row.
“You cover more yards around the field, you can play a bit looser and there’s a little more freedom. I enjoy that aspect of it, but I have to be honest and say I can’t wait to get back to propping again.”
Catching the eye in his debut campaign for the Falcons after signing straight from Kirkham Grammar School a year-and-a-half ago, the front-row battering ram took time to adjust to the demands of being a full-time athlete.
“It was hard at first, and it took a bit of getting used to,” he revealed.
“As I progressed through last season I felt as if everything started to come together, and it was just a case of getting into the routine of that full-time environment.”
With his more experienced squad-mates helping him along, Brookes said: “Carl Hayman was a massive influence when I first came to the club.
“Guys like Bobby Vickers at hooker and Jonny Golding on the loose-head side also took me under their wing.
“Our front-row coach at the moment, Micky Ward, is really helping me along. He’s played at this level for a long time now.
“I’m enjoying working with Micky in training because you can pick so much up from him.”
The final game of last season provided a memorable moment for Brookes, in what could be seen as a symbolic passing of the baton to the next generation.
Replacing All Black icon Hayman for the final moments of the match against London Wasps, Brookes’ first involvement was to take the ball at the back of a line-out, blast his way through two would-be tacklers – including French legend Serge Betsen – and lay the try on a plate for forward colleague Tim Swinson.
“It was just a case of fresh legs in the last 30 seconds of the game,” he said, with a cheeky glint in his eye.
“There was nothing else in my mind when I got the ball though. I thought ‘just go for it’ and luckily it came off with Swinno getting the try.”
Relishing the rough stuff with his route-one running style, he added: “I think I’m more suited towards the physical contact rather than trying to side-step people. If you come up in a one-on-one situation, you’ve just got to back yourself to run over the top of them.”
With Exeter the opposition this weekend in Saturday’s European encounter, Brookes will be returning to the venue where he came on as a replacement in the 22-17 league defeat against the Chiefs.
“I got on for the last 15 minutes or so down there, and they were a very big pack,” he said.
“They were a really physical and well-drilled side, but we’ve just got to keep playing the way we did against Gloucester two weeks ago. If we can take that sort of form to Exeter, then there’s no reason why we can’t do well down there.”
