Newcastle Red Bulls team to face Northampton Saints
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Newcastle Red Bulls team to face Northampton Saints
Sam Graham and Elliot Millar Mills return to their former clubs on Friday when Newcastle Red Bulls open their Gallagher PREM campaign away to champions, Northampton Saints.
Prop Tom West is also in line to face his former club having been named as a replacement for the 7.45pm kick-off at Franklin’s Gardens, with Newcastle fielding seven summer signings in their starting XV and a further five on the bench.
Chris Harris starts at inside centre for the league opener having re-joined Newcastle from Bath Rugby, with former Ulster star Werner Kok on the left wing.
Māori All Black Pouri Rakete-Stones makes his PREM debut at loose-head prop having helped the Hurricanes to this year’s Super Rugby title – Millar Mills locking down the other side of the scrum as he faces his old team for the first time since playing for them in June’s Gallagher PREM final.
Former Gloucester man Cam Jordan starts in the second row alongside Newcastle’s Young Player of the Season, Oscar Usher, with former Perpignan man Max Hicks joining ex-Saint Sam Graham in the back row.
On the bench there could be a debut for former New Zealand All Black No.8 Hoskins Sotutu, with Argentina lock Franco Molina also among the replacements having this week returned from international duty.
Countryman Simón Benítez Cruz joins him on the bench, with ex-Sale prop James Harper and former Stade Francais fly-half Zack Henry completing the contingent of new arrivals.
The Red Bulls head into Friday’s opener with a record of four from four, winning their PREM Rugby Cup opener 36-24 at Leicester Tigers following pre-season victories over Glasgow Warriors, Doncaster Knights and Rotherham Titans.
Head coach Dan McFarland, who joined Newcastle fresh from helping Kobelco Steelers to the Japanese title, said: “It couldn’t be set up any better, because you’ve got the team at the back of the grid going away to the team in pole position.
“Northampton won the title last season playing a fantastic style of rugby, they’re really well coached and have got many of the best young players around. For us this is exactly the kind of challenge that a Red Bull team would relish going after, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Asked about a busy summer which has seen a major turnover in personnel, he said: “We’re a brand new team in many respects, just by the sheer number of players and coaches coming together during the summer, and we’re trying to establish ourselves as a force in an incredible league like the Gallagher PREM.
“Nobody is under any illusions in thinking it will just happen overnight and we know we’ll be facing quality teams every single week, but we’ll play with ambition and give it a proper crack.
“In some respects we’re almost like a start-up, albeit with a core group of people who have worked incredibly hard here over many years, showing incredible resilience in coming through some tough times. They are willing us to be ambitious and forward-thinking, and there’s a huge motivation in wanting to do it for those guys who have been through so much here.
“You then combine that with a number of players and coaches who are new to the club, coming together incredibly well in a short space of time, and I think it’s a powerful combination. Cohesion and connection in rugby is such a huge and important aspect, and I’ve been really impressed so far by how well everyone has bought into it.
“We’re very clear in wanting to play a high-energy game, pushing ourselves to the physical limits and sharing special moments together. We’re part of an incredible network with being in the Red Bull family, and you can feel the sense of excitement in every area of the club at the moment.”
Newcastle Red Bulls v Northampton Saints (Friday, 7.45pm, Franklin's Gardens, live on TNT Sports)
15 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Chris Harris, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Brett Connon, 9 James Elliott; 1 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2 George McGuigan, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Cam Jordan, 6 Max Hicks, 7 Tom Christie (captain), 8 Sam Graham.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Tom West, 18 James Harper, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 21 Simón Benítez Cruz, 22 Zack Henry, 23 Hoskins Sotutu.
Not available for selection: Benjamín Elizalde, Nathan Greenwood, Josh Hodge, Murray McCallum, Richard Palframan, Raffi Quirke, Reuben Parsons, Will Rigg, Adam Scott, Rusi Tuima, George Turner, Sam Waugh.
