The Australian, who captains the Falcons on Friday, said on the day he put pen to paper: “The north-east has been very good to me. I’ve been received very well by the everyone here, and the rugby side of things is good, so I’m enjoying the whole package.

“There are factors to consider, like family issues and things back home, but to have another two years in Newcastle is fantastic. Whenever you make a move, and such a major one as coming from Sydney to Newcastle, there is a lot of change to take in to account, but the friends we’ve made here and the support we’ve had throughout has been unbelievable.

“You understand when you come over here that you’re not coming for a holiday or for the weather, you’re coming to play some serious footy, but then on top of that we’ve had a great time in the city of Newcastle, so there was no problem in deciding to stay.”

Revealing the process leading to his extension, Burke said: “I had a two-year contract originally, and within that there was an option for a third year if we felt things were going okay, based on how I was feeling and how the club saw things.

“Rob and I talked about this as far back as last summer. There was never any problem, we’ve just taken our time, talked things through properly and then finally reached an agreement that suits everyone. Like with anything the process takes a while to complete, but in the end I think we’re all happy.”

More immediately on the horizon for Burke and his team mates is the much-awaited visit of Leicester Tigers on Friday, with the Wallaby World Cup winner stating: “Our last Friday night game against London Irish back in November was huge, and they really are big occasions for the fans.

“They’ve just finished a hard week at work, the amber nectar is flowing and there’s a bit more of a party atmosphere around the stadium, so from a playing point of view we all love occasions like this with a lot of atmosphere.”

As for opponents Leicester, with whom the Falcons drew 16-16 back in October, he said: “They have lost a fair few players to international duty, but if you look at their team sheet they can still put out a real quality side, and we will have to play to our best if we’re going to get anything against them.

“What we can’t do is fall in to the trap of thinking Leicester have lost a load of guys to internationals, and that they’ll just roll over for us on Friday.

“We have trained well this week, and there have been some serious words between the players about the way we let ourselves down against Gloucester.

“After last week’s disappointment we need to put in a big performance, and the support from the crowd will be a major factor in helping the guys when they’re out there on the pitch.”

Having made eight changes to their team for the game, Burke said of the selection: “With two games in five days we have had to rotate our squad a fair bit for this weekend, but we have still managed to put out a fantastic side, and we are also lucky to have guys of the quality of Mike McCarthy waiting on the bench as well.

“Mike got man-of-the-match last week against Gloucester, and I’m sure he will have a part to play from the bench as we look to add some impact during the game, as well as the other players we have to come on.”

Having lost only two of their last 12 games in all competitions, Burke insisted: “We have been on a great run recently, and the mentality of the team has changed notably, so we’re all confident we can get over what was a poor performance last week and really give this one a good go.”