FIRST TEAM
TEAM NEWS: GRAHAM BACK FOR SATURDAY CUP CLASH
Sam Graham returns to captain Newcastle Red Bulls on Saturday when they host Harlequins in PREM Rugby Cup action.
The 2.30pm kick-off at Kingston Park sees Graham skippering a side showing seven personnel changes from the one which started last weekend at Saracens.
Tom West and Ollie Fletcher join the front row after coming on from the bench last time out, with Argentina’s Franco Molina returning in the second row.
Nathan Greenwood replaces Harrison Obatoyinbo at full-back after picking up a broken finger last weekend, Alex Hearle coming in on the wing and Ethan Grayson starting in the centres.
On the bench there could be a first appearance of the season for fit-again back-five forward Adam Scott, with club captain Tom Christie and scrum-half Joe Davis also among those being added to the replacements.
Scrum coach Micky Ward, Newcastle’s all-time appearance record holder and a two-time Cup winner, said: “This time of year is about finding that balance between giving opportunities to your younger guys and the lads who have been going well in training waiting for their chance, getting some rest into the senior lads without them going stale, and coping without your international players, all while trying to win games and make progress in the competition.
“So there are lots of different priorities to consider, especially when we have a bye week before going back into a massive Gallagher PREM match at Gloucester in early December. You don’t want to be going into that game under-cooked having not played for a month, so for us as a staff there are a lot of things to put into the pot around selection.”
Reflecting on last weekend’s loss at Saracens despite winning the second half, Ward said: “It was a disappointing first 40 in which we turned over far too much ball, but the second half was much better.
“A number of lads were involved despite not having had much time with us, and I thought they did well. Kaleem Barreto deserved his try towards the end, Mason Flesch was charging about in the back row and Rob Carmichael got stuck in.
“You then had young Euan Oakes making his debut at 18 years of age, which will have been a proud moment for him and his family, the likes of George Bolam and Jake Dalziel both scoring a try in the second half and getting themselves involved. It’s all good experience for them, and despite the disappointment of the result it was still a really useful learning tool for those guys.”
Delighted to be back at Kingston Park having clocked up a lot of miles over the past month, Ward added: “It’s nice to have a home game after so much time on the road recently.
“Four of our last five games have been away, and they’ve all been long trips with Exeter, Llanelli and then two to London back to back. The fixture secretary isn’t on my Christmas card list this year, but all joking aside it’s always nice to play at your home ground.
“We want to see a real gritty performance in front of our supporters, like we did against Sale Sharks when we were right on it. That gets us rolling a little bit, and if we can go into that December block with some momentum behind us then I think we’re in a pretty good place.”
Supporters are advised that Saturday’s match is not being televised or streamed online, so being at Kingston Park in person is the only way to see all the action.
The game is included on the 2026-27 season ticket, with non-season ticket holders able to gain entry by clicking here.
The club will also be showing England v Japan on the TVs in the stadium bars, with the Nations Championship game from Allianz Stadium kicking off at 4.40pm.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Harlequins (Saturday, 2.30pm, Kingston Park)
15 Nathan Greenwood, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Ethan Grayson, 12 Rhys Beeckmans, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 James Elliott; 1 Tom West, 2 Ollie Fletcher, 3 James Harper, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Finn Baker, 6 George Bolam, 7 Mason Flesch, 8 Sam Graham (captain).
Replacements: 16 Samson Adejimi, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Rob Carmichael, 20 Adam Scott, 21 Tom Christie, 22 Joe Davis, 23 Oli Spencer.
Not available for selection: Sammy Arnold, Simón Benítez Cruz, Benjamín Elizalde, Allan Ferrie, Cameron Hutchison, Werner Kok, Irakli Kolbaia, Elliot Millar Mills, Francisco Moreno, Harrison Obatoyinbo, Richard Palframan, Reuben Parsons, Raffi Quirke, Micky Rewcastle, Hoskins Sotutu, Zuriel Togiatama, Rusi Tuima, George Turner, Alfie Warwick, Sam Waugh.
Referee: Harry Walbaum.
