Yorkshire Carnegie captain Ryan Burrows has become Newcastle Falcons’ latest signing as the club continues its recruitment for next season.
The 28-year-old has scored 28 tries in his 138 appearances for Carnegie since joining them in 2011, the 6 foot 2 back-row forward having also made more than a century of appearances for Rotherham.
Born in the Yorkshire town of Cleckheaton, Burrows brings a major ball-carrying threat from No 8 and is already familiar to Newcastle after scoring the winning try against the Falcons during the 2013 RFU Championship play-off semi-final.
“Having spoken to Dean Richards, he really sold the vision and the ambition of the club moving forward,” said Burrows.
“Watching where they have come from in terms of being a Championship side four years ago, they are now pushing for a top-six Aviva Premiership place and are beating big sides on a regular basis. They are playing a style of rugby which really appeals to me, and overall it’s just an attractive prospect.”
Giving Falcons supporters an idea of what they can expect when he arrives in the summer, he said: “Physicality is something I like to bring to the game, and some big ball-carrying.
“I like to get stuck in physically, my pace is something I would count as an asset and with the way the Falcons play, especially on their 3G pitch, I think it could be a good fit.”
Keen to thank Yorkshire Carnegie and determined to finish his time with the club by leading them back into the top flight, Burrows added: “It wasn’t an easy decision to make in the sense that I’ve really enjoyed my time with Yorkshire Carnegie, and I’m enormously grateful to the club and the supporters for everything they’ve done for me.
“I have been happy throughout my whole time there but the prospect of playing Premiership rugby was a huge draw, and something that can’t be guaranteed at Yorkshire Carnegie due to the Championship play-off system. It was too good an opportunity to pass up at this stage of my career.
“We have some big games coming up for Carnegie against the likes of London Irish this weekend, and it’s a really big push between now and the end of the Championship season. I am totally focused on helping the club achieve their goal for the rest of the year, and try and achieve what I originally set out to do when I joined Carnegie, which is getting them back into the Premiership.”
Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards added: “Ryan is an experienced performer who has played to a consistently high standard in the Championship over a number of years now, and really deserves this chance to step up.
“His ball-carrying, leadership and work rate will all be major assets when he joins us in the summer, before which time I know he is completely committed to helping Yorkshire Carnegie finish their season strongly.”
Burrows becomes the Falcons’ fifth confirmed new signing for next season following the arrivals of Canada wing DTH van der Merwe (Scarlets), French centre Maxime Mermoz (Leicester Tigers), Fiji centre Josh Matavesi (Ospreys) and fly-half Joel Matavesi (Redruth).
Season ticket memberships for 2017-18 are already available by calling 0871 226 6060.