JONNY WILKINSON reckons it is time for Newcastle Falcons to fulfil their potential. England’s World Cup winner is delighted to be back in club colours, despite yesterday’s 24-6 defeat at London Wasps ending Newcastle’s EDF Cup hopes for another year. The tough-tackling fly-half was happy to do some tough talking about the future for the North East club, especially now All Black powerhouse Carl Hayman has made his debut. The big Kiwi was pressed into service for the second half as Newcastle desperately tried in vain to turn the tide. With a wry smile, Wilko said he loved every minute of the intermittent hail and rain storms - but was more concerned with where Newcastle go from here. Wilkinson said: “There is huge potential and that’s why I’m so excited about being at the club. “I’m enjoying what it’s like to be a part of that feeling. “It’s about building, working together as different units that come together as one, and fostering different relationships day in day out. “We’ve just come from an international setup that wasn’t a great deal about building, because we only seven or eight weeks to get it all together. “We played one-off games under enormous pressure, pressure that is there individually and as a collective. “But here there is an understanding that we are building towards something. “And having not just the other international guys, but people like Tom May and James Grindal there too is vital. “And it is time for us to do something big.” Wilkinson said the performances of Toby Flood for both club and country underline the Falcons’ upward trajectory. And he said he cannot wait to enjoy more run-outs with his close friend, mainly thanks to Flood’s aptitude for the same visionary playmaking skills as his own. Wilkinson said: “On days like this it is not about throwing the ball out and playing with abandon. You have to close a few doors on the ambitions you had at the start of the day but then in turn you need to open a few others. “They are about involving other people more in the game and coming off the pitch with a sore left foot from kicking, and a sore shoulder from tackling. “You are not going to come off blowing from working your fitness levels really hard. “It’s about understanding your motivation on the day. “For the club we are poised in a good position though - you only have to look at Toby Flood to see that. “It was great to have him outside me today - to have someone else who sees what you do, thinks the way you do, but also will spot things you don’t. “He’s really maturing very, very quickly into the player that Newcastle wants and England want as well. “The situation at the club allows me to relax into working hard and developing myself as a player on the same levels as developing as a player within a framework. “Everyone is committed whole-heartedly to moving forward and right to the top, and there is no better feeling of security than that for me.” | 
