NSW prop Harry Johnson Holmes reckons the Waratahs owe a debt to Newcastle sports fans.
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And the proud Novocastrian is hoping the Super Rugby outfit can repay them with a win over the Auckland Blues in front of a large and loud crowd on McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night.
It is the second "home" game the Waratahs have brought to the Hunter and follows a 31-29 loss to the Sunwolves last March.
"Newcastle's got a great community of supporters of all sports, rugby especially, so we want to be able to pay them back," said Johnson-Holmes, who returns to the side after missing the Tahs' 45-23 loss to champions Canterbury in the season-opener due to illness.
"We had a great trip last time but we weren't able to get the job done. It was pretty frustrating and no-one has really forgotten about it. We have a debt to repay and hopefully we can give the people of Newcastle a better showing."
A crowd of 12,621 was on hand for the loss to the Sunwolves last March - the first NSW Super Rugby game played outside of Sydney. Although the attendance was below the 15,000 anticipated, NSW Rugby achieved the revenue benchmarks set.
Since the allocation of the Blues game, NSW Rugby Union has been working with the City of Newcastle, and Venues NSW to grow the event.
As part of the promotion for the game, the Graincorp silos at Carrington were lit up in blue on Monday night. There has also been more community engagement.
Waratahs players helped conduct a coaching clinic last week, a coaching seminar with Waratahs senior rugby staff is being held Thursday, there are school visits Friday and an open training session at McDonald Jones Stadium.
"We learnt a lot from last year," NSW Waratahs general manager of rugby Tim Rapp said. "This year the match is in a family friendly time slot on a Saturday before the NRL season has started and against a quality team in the Auckland Blues.
"There are events around the rugby community - junior clinics and coaching seminars - but the statement to light up the silos blue is to engage the whole community not just rugby followers. We want to get a buzz around that the Waratahs are super excited to be in Newcastle."
The Waratahs' regular home ground at Moore Park is being rebuilt and is out of action for at least another two years and Rapp said Newcastle was well positioned to host more games.
"We have the ability to take our team to the state rather than be based purely in Sydney," he said. "The beauty of playing in Newcastle, which is a big city itself, is that we can take the game to more people."
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the match was another chance to showcase the city.
"The city has really got behind the Waratahs playing here again," the Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said. "This time the competition is coming from across the ditch. The other important thing is opening the (home) season showcases the city and shows that we are still able to attract the large scale sporting events to Newcastle and that we are a destination of choice. We are looking at least 3500 people coming to Newcastle for the match, which is an injection of more than $500,000 to our economy."
"Novocastrians love supporting big events and we are hoping for a really good crowd on Saturday night. We see what is happening with stadium issues in Sydney as a real opportunity to showcase Newcastle and the region's ability to host big events. I think there are other opportunities and we have been working closely with venues to attract not only the Waratahs and their competitors, but also on how we can attract other codes while those stadiums are out of action.
.Former Wallabies captain Phil Kearns, who serves is on the board of Venues NSW believes Newcastle could be a regular venue for Super Rugby.
"Newcastle has a strong history with rugby and a great local comp up here. It is great to see the Waratahs up here again partnering with the City of Newcastle, Venues NSW and Graincorp. It's great to have the corporate support and get the blue out there. get the message out there that the Waratahs are going to be in town and we would love to have a big crowd because we want them to come back every year."
