FIRST TEAM
TEAM NEWS: RED BULLS SIDE TO FACE SCARLETS
Brandon Jackson and Francisco Moreno make their debuts for Newcastle Red Bulls on Saturday night when they travel to Wales to take on the Scarlets.
The EPCR Challenge Cup game is an 8pm kick-off as Newcastle play their first ever game at Parc y Scarlets, with former Saracens wing Jackson (pictured) and Argentina prop Moreno both making their competitive bows.
Allan Ferrie makes his first start since arriving from Coventry in the summer, the Scottish back-rower having scored as a replacement in last month’s PREM Rugby Cup victory at Leicester Tigers. Josh Hodge returns from a hand injury at full-back, with his one pre-season outing seeing him scoring a try and kicking five from five in a home win over Glasgow Warriors.
Obi Ene is recalled on the wing after scoring three minutes into his Gallagher PREM debut against Leicester, with Jake Dalziel starting at fly-half having impressed from the bench in last weekend’s debut at Exeter.
On the bench there is a return for fit-again prop Murray McCallum, with head coach Dan McFarland insisting the EPCR Challenge Cup plays a valuable role in his side’s season.
“I don’t see the change in competition as a bad thing, and the Challenge Cup is really important for us,” said the Red Bulls boss.
“I spent 15 years with Connacht being involved in this tournament, and I love the challenge of pitting yourselves against teams from other leagues. It’s a different experience with different teams, stadiums, atmospheres, referees and all the rest of it, and I see it as an opportunity.”
Freshening up his line-up from last Sunday’s double bonus point at Exeter Chiefs, McFarland explained: “We moved some guys around last week, we’ve done the same this week and I look upon it as a chance for players to put themselves forward.
“We are taking this competition seriously, we want to win down there but we know it will be tough against a Scarlets side coached by someone like Dwayne Peel. I worked with him at Ulster, and his teams will be all about playing with spark, looking to counter-attack and moving the ball. They’ve got some big, heavy forwards and some dangerous backs, so it will be a big challenge for us.”
Reflecting on last weekend’s 34-28 reverse at Exeter, he added: “It was a tight game in which both sides tested each other in different ways. It’s obviously disappointing to lose another close one but I thought we produced a lot of good stuff, and we challenged Exeter physically, which was one of the big things we had asked for.
“There was a lot to be proud of and we caused problems for a very good defensive side, so it was nice in that sense to see the continued growth of our team. The next step as well know is turning these narrow losses into narrow wins, and I’m confident we are doing the right things to make it happen.”
The Sandy Park clash saw Christian Wade come within a single try of the league’s all-time scoring record as well as a top-flight debut for 18-year-old fly-half Jake Dalziel, both of which were pleasing for McFarland.
“Being part of a team game where you can also celebrate the individual achievements is one of the great things about rugby, and we saw that last week with Wadey getting to 100 tries and Jake making his debut,” he said.
“To score a century of tries in your country’s top domestic league is quite incredible, especially when you consider he has spent time in American football and rugby league, as well as playing rugby union in France. It’s testament to his finishing ability that he has been able to score 100 tries even despite having that time away, and he is certainly doing the business for us.
“Then at the other end of the career spectrum you have Jake, who wasn’t even in our match-day squad until the day before the game. He hadn’t trained in the team because he wasn’t due to be playing, and then he gets brought onto the field a lot earlier than anyone probably thought due to injury to another player.
“He’s a young man with a lot to learn, as I’m sure he will admit himself, but he’s got loads of ability and he really took his opportunity. He still has a lot of growing to do, which sounds strange when he’s 6 foot 5, but he will fill out the more time he spends in our environment. He’s got a cannon of a boot, his work rate is exceptional and it was a really promising start for him.
“It’s a great honour for Jake to be the youngest ever player to represent the club in the Gallagher PREM, and he has another big chance on Saturday.”
Click here for an explanation of the EPCR Challenge Cup format for 2026-27.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Scarlets (Saturday, 8pm, Parc y Scarlets, live on S4C)
15 Josh Hodge, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Brandon Jackson, 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 James Elliott; 1 Tom West, 2 Ollie Fletcher, 3 Francisco Moreno, 4 Finn Baker, 5 Franco Molina, 6 Allan Ferrie, 7 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 8 Sam Graham (captain).
Replacements: 16 Samson Adejimi, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Oscar Usher, 20 Max Hicks, 21 Simón Benítez Cruz, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Oli Spencer.
Not available for selection: Benjamín Elizalde, Ethan Grayson, Nathan Greenwood, Richard Palframan, Raffi Quirke, Reuben Parsons, Micky Rewcastle, Will Rigg, Adam Scott, Rusi Tuima, George Turner, Sam Waugh.
Referee: Evan Urruzmendi (France)
