“Joe has been a sensational signing for us since arriving last season, and we didn’t have to think about it for too long when he expressed a desire to stay with us beyond the end of next year,” said director of rugby John Fletcher.

“In a very short space of time he has become a firm favourite on the terraces with his enthusiasm and experience. He is a larger-than-life character who is very much at home in Newcastle, and has added a huge amount of quality to the side since his arrival. Despite turning 34 in the last couple of months Joe got in to professional rugby fairly late in his life, so there is still plenty of rugby left in him.

“The fact that he is so willing to share his experience with our English props like David Wilson, Micky Ward, Jon Golding and Johnny Williams is almost as important as his on-field contribution, and when you factor Carl Hayman in to that equation it is not hard to see why we are so excited about our front row prospects.”

Speaking from New Zealand where he is home visiting friends and family, McDonnell said: “Newcastle has made a big impression on me since coming over last autumn, and the ambition around the club at the moment is kind of contagious.

“We have a very close-knit family atmosphere at Kingston Park and a fantastic support at home and on the road. There is such a huge amount of talent within this group right now, I don’t think people on the outside quite realise, so to be here in a great city like Newcastle for the next two years with this group of people is something I’m looking forward to immensely.”