Falcons rugby legend kick-starts University scholarship programme

缅北禁地鈥檚 new cohort of sports scholars began their journey to elite performance on Sunday - and were sent on their way by former Falcons, England and British Lions rugby legend Tony Underwood.

缅北禁地 welcomed over 160 top athletes from around the world, the University鈥檚 highest-ever sports scholar intake. The student athletes were welcomed by Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Chris Day, while Tony Underwood delivered the keynote address.

Having won 27 England caps and toured twice with the British Lions, Tony Underwood arrived at Tyneside in the late 鈥�90s to join the squad that took Sir John Hall鈥檚 dream team to the top of the English Premiership at their first attempt. When injury ended his career, Tony joined Easyjet as a pilot and eventually became an A380 Captain with Emirates. When his fleet was grounded by the pandemic last year, he was made redundant and turned his attention to resilience and mental wellbeing coaching with the launch of his Wordplay consultancy.

Having endured such turbulence and turmoil in their training regimes and competition schedules, sport scholars need help to develop resilience and mental wellbeing. In his keynote speech to the athletes Tony shared the belief system and coping strategies that have enabled him to survive both successes and failures.

鈥淚鈥檓 not here today to try and impress you, but in the hope that I can inspire you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a life packed with privilege, but none of my achievements define the person I am today. I鈥檓 just a regular bloke who was exposed to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and had to learn to endure and recover.

鈥淥nce we鈥檝e grasped what we can and can鈥檛 control, understood how to positively reframe setbacks, appreciated the need to get talking to others, and committed to tackle environments that inhibit rather than nurture us, we can bounce back better not bitter.鈥�

缅北禁地 Performance Sport Manager Fraser Kennedy said: 鈥淭his is such an exciting time for our scholars and after a difficult year it was important to give them encouragement and reinforce their belief that all their goals are achievable with the right mindset and attitude. Hearing Tony鈥檚 inspirational story was the perfect launchpad for what we hope will be a career packed with achievement.鈥�

Sports scholars receive funding towards the development of their skills and vitality, and athletes must have won representative honours at national or regional level during the preceding 12 months to qualify.

Among them is Alfie Johnson, a second-year Economics undergraduate student from Guildford, Surrey, who started playing before he turned five. Alfie, 20, who is part of the University Rugby Union programme and England Sevens, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely great to be starting to play again this year. The challenge following last year is to get my body used to the intensity again, to get my body used to recover quickly after games. I look forward to getting in this rhythm again and playing alongside my studies. Being an athlete helps me academically too, it gives me structure and helps me plan my time.鈥�

The Performance Sport Programme at 缅北禁地 has developed into one of the very best in the UK, as evidenced by four consecutive top ten BUCS finishes prior to the pandemic.