For four Newcastle players there is an extra incentive for winning matches – more of their beer gets drunk.
Can after can of Manuia was cracked open on the way back from the Falcons' tremendous 27-21 win at Gloucester a fortnight ago.
As one of the brains behind the brew, pint-sized scrum-half Michael Young ensured the team bus was well stocked for the 265- mile journey home and the zesty tipple went down a treat.
Will Welch, Logo Mulipola and Carl Fearns make up the entrepreneurial foursome who hope their product's eye-catching branding will help it stand out in a crowded marketplace.
“Rugby and beer, what could possibly go wrong?” laughed Fearns. “It was probably about a year ago now that we came up with the idea, we were talking about Tuilagi Gin over a coffee and Logo was talking about what he wanted to do post-rugby.
“We said why don't we bring a beer out and we asked Logo what “Cheers” was in Samoan.
“When he said, Manuia (pronounced Manu-we-ah), we said we quite liked it, even though it was hard to pronounce and some people say “Manure”! It was debated for a long time but, in the end, we went with it.
“There are a lot of beers out there already and we wanted something different which is where the Samoan twist comes into play.
“The beer is brewed in Newcastle, by Full Circle Brew Co., but the branding is all about Samoa. This is where Logo has really put his stamp on it all, including the tribal print taken from his traditional tattoo.”
In addition to a popup bar inside the stadium at Kingston Park, Manuia is available in selected outlets around Newcastle, including a wine shop run by ex-Falcon Jon Welsh.
But with a big hotel chain recently agreeing to stock Manuia at all of its sites, things are really starting to take off.
“Don't get me wrong, it's obviously a physically gruelling job being a rugby player, but we do get a fair bit of free time ‘to recover', so we always try and get together twice a week to talk about all things Manuia,” said Fearns.
“The four of us share responsibilities equally and spread the workload too. This is all new to us so we're constantly learning along the way, but that's exactly what we want with this experience.
“When I haven't been playing, I have been the barman in the stadium, selling cans. I'd like to be out there but it has helped us sell more beer because it is probably a bit more attractive to fans to be able to buy a beer off a professional rugby player and have a chat.”
Fearns, 33, has only made two appearances for the Falcons this season due to injury, so getting Manuia off the ground has been a welcome distraction.
But the bruising No.8 is now back in action and made his return in the win over Exeter on Friday.
He added: “I got a knock when I was playing against Leicester away, and I had to have my cartilage trimmed. Thankfully, it wasn't as serious as I first thought.”
