FIRST TEAM
TEAM NEWS: SIDE NAMED FOR SARACENS CUP TRIP
Canadian international Mason Flesch makes his Newcastle Red Bulls debut on Saturday when they travel to Saracens in PREM Rugby Cup action.
The 26-year-old (pictured above) packs down at No.8 as his side returns to StoneX Stadium for the second time in eight days, having taken a four-try bonus point from last Saturday’s Gallagher PREM meeting between the two clubs.
Scrum-half James Elliott captains a starting XV which includes three former Saracens players, with hooker Samson Adejimi, full-back Harrison Obatoyinbo and winger Brandon Jackson all starting against their old club.
Jake Dalziel comes in at fly-half for the 3pm kick-off as Newcastle play their second game in the PREM Rugby Cup pool phase, having opened with a 36-24 victory at Leicester Tigers.
Rhys Beeckmans makes his first appearance of the season in the centres, while on-loan Edinburgh lock Rob Carmichael starts in the second row.
Eighteen-year-old back-rower Euan Oakes is in line for his debut having been named among the replacements, with Great Britain 7s scrum-half Kaleem Barreto also on the bench in the week that he arrived on a short-term deal.
Scrum coach Micky Ward, Newcastle’s all-time appearance record holder and a two-time Cup winner with the club, said: “It’s a big opportunity for us on Saturday.
“We’ve started the competition with a win and a lot of lads have got their chance this weekend, so we’ll go down there and give it a good crack.
“The guys coming in for this game have all trained really well and deserve their opportunity, and the reality over a long season is that you’ve got to manage people’s workloads. If you roll lads out week after week they’ll break down during the business end of the season, but like I say, it’s also a reward for the guys who have been giving so much in training.”
Reflecting on last weekend’s bonus-point in defeat at Saracens, Ward said: “We were 17-7 up at half-time and left a few opportunities out there in the first half, so it was disappointing to come away with a defeat.
“We probably went a bit too conservative at times and moved away from the Newcastle Red Bulls brand that we’re trying to put out there, but we’ve had a very honest debrief and taken the lessons from it.
“Sides like Sarries are always going to have a 10 or 15-minute purple patch, and if you pick up yellow cards during that period then you’re going to have problems. You need to show a bit more control and get your own game firing, but we’re picking up bonus points and going well in certain areas of our game.
“We’re never going to be happy after losing but we’re starting to see some of the stuff we’re doing in training coming through into our matches, and we’ll keep hammering away at that.
Supporters are advised that Saturday's game is not being televised or live-streamed, but there will be live audio commentary via the BBC Rugby website.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Saracens (Saturday, 3pm, StoneX Stadium)
15 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Oli Spencer, 12 Rhys Beeckmans, 11 Brandon Jackson, 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 James Elliott (captain); 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Samson Adejimi, 3 James Harper, 4 Rob Carmichael, 5 Finn Baker, 6 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7 George Bolam, 8 Mason Flesch.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Tom West, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Euan Oakes, 21 Kaleem Barreto, 22 Ethan Grayson, 23 Nathan Greenwood.
Not available for selection: Sammy Arnold, Simón Benítez Cruz, Benjamín Elizalde, Allan Ferrie, Max Hicks, Cameron Hutchison, Werner Kok, Irakli Kolbaia, Elliot Millar Mills, Franco Molina, Francisco Moreno, Richard Palframan, Reuben Parsons, Raffi Quirke, Micky Rewcastle, Hoskins Sotutu, Zuriel Togiatama, Rusi Tuima, George Turner, Alfie Warwick, Sam Waugh.
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Fraser Rawlins, 13 Angus Hall, 12 Sione Va’enuku, 11 Jack Bracken, 10 Luke Davidson, 9 Tom James; 1 Phil Brantingham, 2 Eoghan Clarke, 3 Corné Weilbach, 4 Kennedy Sylvester, 5 Mathis Dehauteur, 6 Max Eke, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Nathan Michelow (captain).
Replacements: 16 James Isaacs, 17 Vilikesa Nairau, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Tayo Adegbemile, 21 Toby Knight, 22 Charlie Bracken, 23 Finn Keylock.
Referee: Joe James.
