Alan Dickens gives Tom Christie his debut as he says Newcastle Red Bulls owe fans their first Gallagher PREM win in a day short of a year since their last when Leicester Tigers visit Kingston Park on Friday night.
Christie, who captained Canterbury to New Zealand’s NPC title, has been in the north-east for a month, but gets his first chance to pull on a Newcastle Red Bulls shirt.
Newcastle’s longest-serving player, prop Adam Brocklebank, plays his 150th game while Liam Williams is recalled to the side, who last won in the PREM on 29th November 2024 when they beat Saracens 17-12.
Dickens admits that his players are aware they owe the club’s loyal but long-suffering fans a much-needed victory, as they currently sit bottom of the table, looking for their first points of the campaign.
“It’s been a year since we last won, and last year before we beat Exeter and Saracens, it had been nearly two years, I think, and everyone saw the emotion that came out there, not just with the players, but the crowd and the staff.
“It would almost be too easy for the players who have been here a while to shrug their shoulders and accept it, but they don’t. The year and a bit I’ve been here, the crowd has been fantastic.
“The sell-outs since Red Bull came in have been fantastic, and even last season, I took my hat off to the supporters for supporting the club week in and week out.
“I can’t really thank them enough. The aptitude for us to do well is here, and the players do talk about owing the supporters and giving back to them,” he said.
Even though they haven’t picked up a point, Dickens feels they have been in games for 65 minutes but just need to find that final piece of the jigsaw.
“Certainly, when we have played at home this year, we have been more competitive than we have been away. Having said that, we have had some disappointments, including the opening-day loss against Saracens.
“We felt we were in it until the 65th minute, and similarly when we played Northampton here. We were in it and being competitive for 65 minutes. Unfortunately, we had that fourth try chalked off. It was the right decision.
“It is a place the lads have enjoyed playing at this year. The buzz around the place is evident on a Friday night, but we are striving for consistency. It’s been a roller coaster,” he added.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Max Clark, 11 Oli Spencer, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Murray McCallum, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Freddie Lockwood, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Amanaki Mafi.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Simón Benítez Cruz, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Tom Gordon.
