Alex Crockett admits Kingston Park was one of the toughest places to visit during his stints with Bath and Worcester Warriors.
The 30-year-old centre, who made the move to Tyneside from Worcester this summer, reveals he has spent many a Friday night in the lashing ice cold rain at Kingston Park on the opposing side.
“I have played at Kingston Park on a cold Friday night a few times and it is a very tough place to go,” said the former England Saxons and England under-21s man.
“You are always in for a physical battle when you go to Newcastle and that will be no different for visiting teams next season I am sure – hopefully we can make Kingston Park a fortress,” added Crockett.
Joining a whole host of new faces on the training ground, the Bath-born aggressive back is excited at the prospect of playing for such an illustrious club.
He said: “Everything is set-up for Premiership rugby and now we just need to go out onto the pitch and demonstrate why we deserve to go straight back up.
“We have a top class coaching team now in place and it is up to us to make sure that we are constantly competing and all striving for the same goal,” he added.
Crockett spent eight seasons with his hometown club Bath, and co-captained the side during the 2008-09 campaign before Worcester boss Richard Hill lured him to Sixways.
A prominent figure in Worcester’s Championship promotion charge, Crockett has experience of English rugby’s second tier.
“It will not be easy in the Championship by any stretch of the imagination and it is vitally important that we stay focussed throughout the season as other clubs will see us as a major scalp,” said Crockett.
He added: “There is a big squad here which can only be a good thing for each player’s development if there is competition for places.”
Moving up to Newcastle with his partner, Crockett has taken to his new lease of life in the land of Brown Ale.
“Newcastle is a very nice place and I have explored the city and surrounding area,” he said.
“There is beautiful countryside in Northumberland and North Yorkshire as well as the coastal areas. That aside, the most important thing for me is to fight for a place in the team and help the club achieve its goal of promotion this season,” he added.
