Jamie Noon

Jamie Darren Noon (born 9 May 1979 in Goole) is a rugby union footballer who plays at centre for Newcastle Falcons.

His early career started at Fyling Hall School, playing in the back row. At Whitby, he switched to fly-half, scrum half and wing.

He joined the Falcons in the 1998/9 season, after a letter from one of his school teachers alerted the club to a player who despite playing for Fyling Hall School and Whitby RFC had been totally missed by the representative rugby system in Yorkshire. He was drafted into the academy squad straightaway. Jamie thought he would make a good flanker before Newcastle Falcons Kiwi Academy coach, Paul McKinnon, turned him into a centre.

With the aid of a Falcons scholarship, he went to Northumbria University to do a degree in sports science. He made two first team appearances in his first year at the club.

Later that year he represented England in the Sanzar Under-21 tournament, what would later go on to become the IRB Under-21 World Cup, while his first Premiership try came early in the 1999/2000 season away to London Wasps.

As well as touring Argentina and New Zealand with England Under-21s he played for the North of England and England Students, while in the 1999/2000 season he played for England on the IRB Sevens circuit and was a member of England's first ever winning Hong Kong Sevens side.

Full international recognition came in the summer of 2001 when he started three Tests for England on their North American tour â€" two against Canada and one versus the USA, he scored his first Test try in the second of the two clashes against the Canadians. He would have to wait two more years before he once more pulled on an England shirt. A career highlight was playing at Twickenham in his club's 2001 Powergen Cup win over Harlequins.

Jamie has been a major asset in the Newcastle Falcons Premiership ranks and is regarded as one of the most incisive runners in the game. He played an important part in the Falcons' fight for league survival in 2002-03 smashing the record for consecutive Premiership appearances when he started his 50th league game in a row. He was also a key member of the Falcons' Powergen Cup winning side, in April 2004 and was named Falcons player of the year for the 2003/4 campaign.

He played in England's 43-9 World Cup warm up victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in August 2003. Earlier in the year he had impressed when coming on as a replacement for England A against France - immediately creating a try for Joe Worsley. A natural defender whose good vision creates opportunities for others, he was considered unlucky to miss out to Mike Catt in England's World Cup squad. He was the star player of the back division during England's 2004 Churchill Cup summer tour to Canada, he scored in the final against New Zealand M�ori.

Drafted into a new-look England back line, Noon started all five matches for England during the 2005 Six Nations, rounding it off with a historic hat-trick in the final match of the tournament against Scotland at Twickenham.