Physiodan says...

@rugby_rockstar so Mike Brown was the rock for England then was he? More like the thorn in their sides!

Posted 10:38 17th March 2013

rugby_rockstar says...

Noon is a good, destructive outside centre. It was a waste that England insisted on playing him at 12, because it has to be said that his biggest weakness was his distribution.

I loved watching his hits in defense. Jamie has been smashing players, just like Courtney Lawes does, for his entire career. MASSIVE hits. He won us a 6 nations match in Paris once, by destroying the french ball carrier and england scooped up the loose ball and scored a try. Technically, it was an English knock on, thing is that he turned that game with that typically physical challenge, think he got man of the match too, simply because he terrorised the french backline lining them up and smashing rib cages for fun. Thats what you get with Jamie Noon, pure heart and commitment.

I remember his match winning last gasp try in the Newcastle v Harlequins 2001 Tetley Bitter cup final, its was basically a team move from one corner of the pitch to the other and quins ran out of defenders, but in it's way it summed Jamie up, the other 21 players in that squad know that you need team players like that to be successful. Bit like Mike Brown for Quins, Brown is nowhere near as much of a superstar as Isreal Dagg who'll score magnificent, jaw dropping tries, but in a tough game where its all hands to the pump its players like Noon and Brown that'll win you the match.

Jamie's done a great job representing the sport and he's given me some fond memories. I wish him the very best.

Posted 09:41 13th March 2013