Never an All Black, captain anyway
Tom Christie has never worn the black jersey. The real one. He played for the All Blacks XV, the side on the fringes, the one you watch while waiting for a call that never comes.
Newcastle could not care less. The English club have handed him the captaincy for 2026-27.
At 28, the flanker leads a side in England for the first time.
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First through the door at Kingston Park
Christie started all of this. He was the first significant signing of the Red Bull era, the name a club puts on a poster when it wants everyone to understand the plan has changed.
Then came his debut season. Nineteen games. Six tries from a flanker. Not bad at all.
Since then Newcastle have brought in 23 players. The dressing room has been gutted and rebuilt from scratch, and somebody had to hold the thing together.
The CV helps. Seventy-two appearances for the Crusaders, three Super Rugby titles, 56 games for Canterbury in the NPC and an NPC championship won as skipper last year.
What Christchurch taught him
He called the appointment a huge honour and pointed straight back to the Crusaders. Sam Whitelock. Scott Barrett. Kieran Read. Men who, in his telling, chased one per cent every single day.
Head coach Dan McFarland is keeping his feet on the ground. He talks about Christie’s natural leadership and is quick to add that the club has a strong group of senior players around him.
Christie keeps the brief short. Play fast, play with energy, get people back through the turnstiles. Newcastle supporters have absorbed a lot of pain. They want a team worth the trip.
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