Overlooked England hooker Jamie Blamire decides his future

Newcastle Falcons have confirmed that England hooker Jamie Blamire has signed a new two-year deal with the club.

Blamire won six caps in a highly impressive run for England in 2021 and early 2022, but fell down Eddie Jones’ pecking order at hooker and was ultimately left out of their ill-fated Autumn Nations Series.

Some suggested Blamire’s double jobbing in the back row may have swayed Jones but one thing is clear, the 24-year-old knows his way to the try line. He’s scored 15 tries in his 74 appearances after coming through the Falcons’ academy, going on to score an incredible six tries in his six England caps.

“I’ve been with the Falcons since the age of 16, coming through the ACE programme and the senior academy, and it’s somewhere that means a lot to me,” said Blamire. “I want to stay here for longer and build on what I’ve done so far, and I’m really happy to have the contract all sorted.”

“The way we’re attacking this season under the coaching team I really feel suits my style of play, and I’m enjoying being part of it.

“As a team I feel like we’re slowly building again, and we want to get back to challenging higher up the league.

“We’ve also got a core of local lads – I came through the academy with a lot of them – and we’re a really tight group. The guys who have come in from outside as well have fitted in brilliantly, and it’s a good place to be at.”

A former rugby league player in his youth, Blamire won a Grand Slam with England Under-20s and featured in their drive to the Junior World Championship final in 2017.

The front-rower scored on his England test debut against the USA in July 2021 and claimed a hat-trick the following week against Canada, starting in the Twickenham triumph over world champions South Africa the following November.

“Jamie is an outstanding talent and it’s fantastic that he will be staying with us,” said Newcastle Falcons head coach Dave Walder.  “He typifies what we are about as a club in terms of coming through our academy, working hard for the team and looking to play an attacking brand of rugby.

“He has a real X-factor about him in terms of his general play, he’s a great professional and he has had that taste of international rugby fairly early into his career.

“I look forward to seeing his continued progression at the club as we look to move forward, and I’m delighted to have him on board.”