It was in those early days, battling to try and prove himself as a Falcon of the future that Parling realised a few things about himself.
To make it as a player, he would need to excel in a way he maybe could not physically – a theme he reflects on in an almost self-deprecating way when talking about a career which took him to some of rugby’s greatest heights.
“When you were a player that was probably not as physically dominant as other players, you have to learn the game in different ways, that probably helped,” Parling said.
When asked if that set him apart as a ‘rugby nerd’, he smiled and replied: “I’m not a nerd, but a ‘nause’.”
A ‘rugby nause’ in the case put forward by Parling is slang for a ‘studious, enthusiastic rugby know-it-all’.
And the player Parling became, the man he has grown up to be and coach he has emerged as in his 40s is grounded in who he was at Newcastle – part-time coach, starry-eyed player and ‘rugby nause’ combined.
“I don’t think anything is born inherent into you; I think you are a product of your genetics and development,” he said.
“I think most of that you get from being a kid, from your parents, and of course your formative years at a club will have a big impact on you, and that is what Newcastle is.
“When you finish playing, you always feel like you had one club. And I always described Leicester as my club because I probably felt that is where I fit in the most in a weird way, or it was a place where I agreed with the way we were playing the game.
“But a massive nod to Newcastle, I was there for seven years and came though the academy, where there were great coaches and great people, some of whom are still there.
“We are all shaped by our environments, and the longer we spent there and the younger we were in that environment. And it’s not just Newcastle, but growing up in the north east, in Stockton, in Teesside – a pretty down-to-earth area.”
