FIRST TEAM
TEAM NEWS: RIGG RETURNS FOR DERBY WEEKEND SHOWDOWN
Will Rigg makes his Gallagher PREM debut for Newcastle Red Bulls on Friday when they host Sale Sharks in the league’s Derby Weekend.
The 7.45pm kick-off at Kingston Park sees the fit-again centre back in the line-up after sustaining an injury in last month’s PREM Rugby Cup win at Leicester Tigers.
Christian Wade starts on the right wing as the league’s all-time try-scoring record comes into view – Wade just one short of equalling Chris Ashton’s tally of 101, and two short of holding the honour on his own.
Josh Hodge plays his first Gallagher PREM game of the season after returning last weekend against the Scarlets from a broken hand picked up during pre-season, with Brett Connon starting at fly-half.
On the bench there could be a PREM debut for Argentina prop Francisco Moreno, with head coach Dan McFarland relishing the opportunity to hunt for a first league win of the season against the Red Bulls’ northern rivals.
“It’s a big fixture – it’s Gallagher PREM Derby Weekend and this is a battle for the north,” said the Red Bulls boss.
“Sale over the last number of years have deservedly had primacy, albeit we did come back to record a great win here towards the end of last season. Alex Sanderson and the guys over there have done a great job of building a team with a very distinct identity, they’ve challenged up near the top of the league on a number of occasions and they’ve recruited well for this season.
“But we’re also very proud of what we’re about. We’re at a different stage of our journey but our eyes are firmly fixed on picking off the teams ahead of us. In a northern context we don’t currently have that dominance but we absolutely want it, and this is a really important night for us to set down a marker in that battle.”
Asked if had been tapping into the expertise of former Sale players like Raffi Quirke, James Harper and Obi Ene for the inside track on Friday’s visitors, McFarland said: “First and foremost we’ve got to focus on our own strengths and what we’re bringing to the game, whilst obviously being very respectful of the challenge posed by Sale.
“They’re a big, physical team, they’ve prided themselves on that forward-oriented identity over the last number of years and have also developed their game to include real threats out wide. We’re aware of all that, but in terms of preparation it’s more about looking at ourselves and what problems we can cause them by nailing the detail of our own game.”
Playing a high-paced offloading game during the early months of the campaign, the onset of wintry conditions was another question put to McFarland during the build-up.
“With bad weather comes a certain pragmatism around how you play the game, and you have to have the ability to play both ways at the appropriate time,” he said.
“Whatever the elements throw at us we know we have a good surface with our artificial pitch at Kingston Park, which still allows us to play that high-ball-movement type of game even in poor weather. But yeah, of course there has to be a degree of understanding when it is and isn’t appropriate to play a more expansive brand of rugby.”
Taking nothing for granted in terms of Christian Wade equalling or even beating the league’s all-time try-scoring record, the head coach said: “We all hope he gets it, firstly because he’s a great person and we want him to have that accolade, and secondly because if he is scoring tries on a regular basis then we must be doing something right as a team.
“Wadey brings a wider experience to our group than somebody who has just had a career in rugby, and I think that’s really valuable.
“As well as that huge bank of Gallagher PREM experience he has also played in American football and rugby league, plus French rugby union. He has been exposed to athletes from different sporting and cultural environments, and as a consequence has learned the essence of being a professional athlete in general.
“I think that’s very helpful, and outside of that his personality is as a real connector. He can talk to the youngest guy in the squad, a senior pro or the head coach on a level that creates really good connections, and I’ve got nothing but respect for the way he goes about things.”
Click here to buy tickets for Friday’s game, which is preceded at 4.30pm by an Under-23s match between Newcastle and Sale.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Sale Sharks (Friday, 7.45pm, Kingston Park, live on HBO Max)
15 Josh Hodge, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 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 Hoskins Sotutu.
Replacements: 16 Zuriel Togiatama, 17 Tom West, 18 Francisco Moreno, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 21 Sam Graham, 22 James Elliott, 23 Zack Henry.
Not available for selection: Benjamín Elizalde, Allan Ferrie, Ethan Grayson, Nathan Greenwood, Franco Molina, Richard Palframan, Reuben Parsons, Raffi Quirke, Micky Rewcastle, Adam Scott, George Turner, Sam Waugh.
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Dom Hanson; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 5 Ben Bamber, 6 Christ Tshiunza, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Tom Curry.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Elia Canakaivata, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Alex Lozowski, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Arron Reed.
Referee: Matthew Carley.
