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TEAM NEWS: SIDE NAMED TO FACE HARLEQUINS
Christian Wade plays his 150th Gallagher PREM game on Sunday when Newcastle Red Bulls host Harlequins.
The prolific winger (pictured) is just six short of the league’s all-time try-scoring record having dotted down in his last appearance against Bristol Bears, and forms part of a side boosted by the return of club captain George McGuigan.
Fly-half Brett Connon reaches his own appearance milestone as he lines up for his 100th PREM game, forming a half-back pairing with returning Argentina international Simón Benítez Cruz.
Sammy Arnold is back to start in the centres, while Ethan Grayson returns from injury to take up a place on the bench.
Preparing to play against the side immediately above them in the table, head coach Stephen Jones gave short shrift to the notion there is no jeopardy on the game.
“This is an incredibly important match for us,” said the Welshman.
“Yes, we’re building for what is to come, but more importantly for this group of players we have to pay full respect to this season so we can see some tangible reward for all the hard work they’re putting in.
“Whether or not it ends up affecting our league position with just four games left, we’ll have to wait and see, but I can absolutely assure everyone there’s a massive determination and collective buy-in within our building to end the season strongly.
“Aside from anything else we want to acknowledge our supporters for the backing they have given us week in, week out. The way we do that is by putting in a professional and fully-committed performance, and if we can do that we’re then in a great position to compete hard for a result.”
Having had a fortnight to reflect on their home loss against Bristol Bears, Jones added: “We’ve had a good hard look at the Bristol game, and while we competed very strongly in a number of areas when you analyse the statistics, we all know the only stat that counts is on the scoreboard.
“We’ve been very honest in understanding why the game got away from us and what we can do to rectify that, and I’m confident the lads have the ability and mind-set to do it this weekend.
“We had a similar number of red-zone entries to Bristol but their conversion rate was far higher, and a lot of work has been going into the detail of how we improve upon that. Transferring that to game day is now the key, but I have to commend the players for their attitude and application during our preparation.”
Looking to use Sunday as a launch pad from which to finish the season strongly, the head coach said: “Most of our remaining games are against the teams who are immediately above us in the league, and there’s an excitement among the group that we have four more opportunities to show people what we’re really about.
“We’ve got full respect for Harlequins and it should be a great contest on Sunday, but primarily we want to demonstrate our own growth and improvement. The longer-term picture is one thing but we’re honestly not focusing on that, because we owe it to these players and our fans to give due care and attention to our four remaining games.
“What I will say is that I am working with quality people every single day here, and even the guys who know they are leaving us in the summer have been absolutely outstanding in their professionalism. It’s no secret we have a big turnover of people coming shortly, but I can’t speak highly enough of the support and buy-in I’ve seen from every person in this building.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game are still on sale and are available by clicking here.
Newcastle Red Bulls v Harlequins (Sunday, 3pm, Kingston Park, live on HBO Max)
15 Josh Hodge, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Micky Rewcastle, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 5 Finn Baker, 6 Tom Gordon, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Reuben Parsons.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Ethan Grayson.
Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Boeta Chamberlain, Max Clark, Luan de Bruin, Jack Dickens, Connor Doherty, Joel Grayson, Nathan Greenwood, Callum Hancock, Elvis Kitenge-Fuki, Freddie Lockwood, Cameron Neild, Richard Palframan, Oli Spencer, Oscar Usher, Sam Waugh.
Harlequins: 15 Jamie Benson, 14 Cameron Anderson, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday: 1 Will Hobson, 2 Sam Riley, 3 Pedro Delgado, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 5 Elliot Williams, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Seb Driscoll, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain).
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Staples, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Ollie Streeter, 19 Jonny Green, 20 Jack Kenningham, 21 Will Evans, 22 Will Porter, 23 Sean Kerr.
Referee: Harry Walbaum.
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