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TEAM NEWS: CONNON BACK TO FACE SARACENS
Brett Connon returns for Newcastle Red Bulls on Saturday when they travel to Saracens in Gallagher PREM action.
The fit-again fly-half comes in as the only personnel change from last weekend’s match at the Dragons, with a positional reshuffle seeing Ethan Grayson revert to full-back, Elliott Obatoyinbo to the wing and Alex Hearle and Sammy Arnold moving one place infield.
On the bench there is a return for Oli Spencer after completing his return to play protocols, while Cumbrian back-rower Reuben Parsons is set for his Gallagher PREM debut, having played eight times in cup competitions.
Cameron Hutchison is also among the Red Bulls’ replacements, having been part of the Saracens side which defeated Newcastle in the reverse fixture on the opening weekend of the season.
Head coach Alan Dickens, himself a former Saracens player, is well aware of the task ahead in North London, despite Sarries losing last weekend in Scotland.
He said: “Saracens beat Toulouse in their last home game, so I think anybody reading too much into last weekend’s result up at Glasgow has a pretty short memory.
“We’re certainly very aware and respectful of the quality they’ve got, and we know it will be a proper battle. But these are the challenges you look forward to in terms of testing yourselves against the best, and I know the boys will be relishing it.”
Newcastle, like Sarries, suffered European defeat on the road last weekend, although Dickens was philosophical about their Challenge Cup clash at the Dragons.
“I thought our transition in the first half was excellent, and we scored two good tries off the back of defensive efforts to lead at half-time,” he said.
“Ultimately that weight of defending for so long took its toll in the second half, we ended up on the wrong side of the referee and the Dragons were clinical in taking advantage. Credit to them for that, but as disappointing as it felt on the night we’ve still won three from four and gone through to the knock-out phase.
“We’ve got a big home tie against La Rochelle to look forward to in April off the back of that, and when you consider we didn’t win a single game in the tournament last season we’ll take that as some degree of progress.”
Starting to see the trademark scoring form of Christian Wade since his arrival on the wing, Dickens added: “Wadey has been absolutely brilliant since he got here, and he’s a big character around the place with the positive energy he brings to the group.
“He has scored tries in his last two games, both good finishes in different ways, and you can just see his class. Not only the pace that everyone knows he has, but his positioning, footwork, the timing of his runs and how he reads things.
“It’s great to have a weapon like that in our armoury with the positive influence he’s having on the other players, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more from him in the coming weeks and months.”
Newcastle Red Bulls v Saracens (Saturday, 3pm, StoneX Stadium, live on Discovery+)
15 Ethan Grayson, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Tom Gordon, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Freddie Lockwood.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Reuben Parsons, 21 James Elliott, 22 Cameron Hutchison, 23 Oli Spencer.
Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Freddie Clarke, Joe Davis, Connor Doherty, Hame Faiva, Joel Grayson, Callum Hancock, John Hawkins, Elvis Kitenge-Fuki, Ollie Leatherbarrow, Fergus Lee-Warner, Amanaki Mafi, Harrison Obatoyinbo, Liam Williams.
Referee: Joe James.
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