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TEAM NEWS: RED BULLS SIDE FOR LYON TRIP
Newcastle Red Bulls have named their side for Saturday’s EPCR Challenge Cup opener in France, where they take on Lyon.
The clash at Matmut Stadium is one of four pool games in the competition, with the top four teams in each group of six progressing through to the last 16.
George McGuigan captains the side, which includes three personnel changes from the line-up which started last Friday’s Gallagher PREM visit of Leicester Tigers.
Boeta Chamberlain starts at full-back, with Harrison Obatoyinbo in on the left wing and Tom Gordon on the blind-side flank.
Head coach Alan Dickens, a two-time Challenge Cup winner with Northampton Saints, said: “It’s a competition I really like, and it will be useful for us in terms of injecting some momentum into our league season.
“I won the Challenge Cup once as a player and once as a coach, and it’s a trophy in its own right, so we want to go for it.
“It will help develop the competition within our squad as guys are challenging each other for selection, and it should be a good game over in Lyon. Like ourselves, they’ve not had an easy start to the league season and they’ll be looking to change their fortunes, and it’s always a great atmosphere when you go over to these French grounds.”
Having had backs and attack coach Stephen Jones starting his new role this week as well as the arrival of Christian Wade to the playing ranks, Dickens said: “Stephen has got outstanding calibre and will add a lot to our game, so we look forward to seeing how that develops over the coming weeks and months.
“Christian has started training with us but we didn’t feel it was right to chuck him straight into a game, having just come off the back of a rugby league season. He’s a very diligent professional and has looked after himself really well, and then just around the environment he’s a great character who has brought the energy we all know him for.
“His time will come over the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime we’ve got a good group heading over to Lyon and I’m excited to see how we go.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 5.30pm UK time (6.30pm French) and is live on EPCR TV. Click here to buy the stream for €7.99.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Lyon (Saturday, 5.30pm UK time, Matmut Stadium, live on EPCR TV)
15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Ethan Grayson, 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Murray McCallum, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Tom Gordon, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Amanaki Mafi.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Micky Rewcastle, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Simón Benítez Cruz, 22 Cameron Hutchison, 23 Stefan Coetzee.
Not available for selection: Sammy Arnold, Rhys Beeckmans, Eduardo Bello, Max Clark, Freddie Clarke, Joe Davis, Luan de Bruin, Connor Doherty, James Elliott, Hame Faiva, Joel Grayson, Callum Hancock, John Hawkins, Elvis Kitenge-Fuki, Fergus Lee-Warner, Freddie Lockwood, Elliott Obatoyinbo, Richard Palframan.
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa).
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