Newcastle Red Bulls team to face Harlequins

Newcastle Red Bulls will kick off their new era with a familiar face leading the charge as George McGuigan captains them in Friday’s PREM Rugby Cup visit of Harlequins.

The 7.45pm kick-off is poised to be the biggest ever cup crowd at Kingston Park, with the previous high of 7,406 against the Dragons from 2007 set to be surpassed based on current sales projections.

McGuigan skippers the side as he begins his third spell with Newcastle, looking to add to his prolific tally of 48 tries in 165 games for the club.

Japanese No.8 Amanaki Mafi and Scotland international lock Jamie Hodgson both make their debuts in the Red Bulls’ pack, with Joel Grayson starting on the left wing having completed a successful summer trial.

Joel’s twin brother Ethan misses out after injuring his ankle during training, with director of rugby Steve Diamond delighted by the prospect of a record cup crowd following last month’s takeover by Red Bull.

“The buzz around the whole thing is brilliant, and it should be a great occasion,” said Diamond.

“Our magnificent supporters have really stuck with us over the last few years, for which we are incredibly grateful, and we now have this additional wave of momentum behind us as we take it to the next level.

“Longer term it’s onwards and upwards regarding where the club is going, but that’s not my task for the moment. I’ve got to put together and nurture a squad which will be highly competitive in the Gallagher PREM this season, and Friday’s cup game against Harlequins is a big opportunity to hit the ground running.

“I’m not looking any further ahead than that. It’s a massive occasion with being the first game of a new era, and our supporters are voting with their feet.”

Having busily assembled a playing group, a work which is very much still in progress, Diamond added: “We only got taken over four weeks ago, and we’ve done well to put together a squad during that time.

“By the sheer nature of entering the recruitment cycle late we’ve had to bring in guys from the southern hemisphere, many of whom won’t arrive for a little while, but the enthusiasm and positivity around the place is tangible.”

Asked if his charges will be going into Friday’s game cold, having not played any pre-season matches, the Newcastle boss said: “Quins have had two warm-up games and we’ve not had any, but that doesn’t concern me.

“I’ve always only ever played one friendly per summer wherever I’ve been, because I think that’s all you need, but with things happening here late in the summer it was just a timing thing in not being able to arrange opposition at short notice.

“It doesn’t worry me because we’ve had some contact time in training, but Harlequins are a good side and we’re absolutely taking nothing for granted. They play an outstanding brand of rugby so we’ll have to be on the money defensively, and set-piece wise we need to be on it.”

Asked where he has set the mark for the coming campaign, Diamond replied: “As for the season as a whole, I’ve not spoken to the squad about expectations on where we finish.

“My own expectation on the field is that we’re highly competitive and professional, and then off the field with Red Bull’s input the infrastructure here is changing at a rapid pace.

“There is a foundation needed, which we all sometimes forget momentarily when we’re a bit giddy about the wider possibilities moving forward.

“Newcastle have been bottom of the league for the last three seasons and it won’t happen overnight, so there’s a lot of hard work needed by the excellent staff who are already here, mixed in with the new people and new infrastructure we will bring in as we go.”

Newcastle Red Bulls team v Harlequins (Friday, 7.45pm, Kingston Park, live on TNT Sports)

15 Alex Hearle, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Max Clark, 11 Joel Grayson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 3 Luan de Bruin, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Cameron Neild, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Amanaki Mafi.

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Micky Rewcastle, 18 Callum Hancock, 19 Seb de Chaves, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 James Elliott, 22 Rhys Beeckmans, 23 Nathan Greenwood.

Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Simon Benitez Cruz, Tim Cardall, Boeta Chamberlain, Tom Christie, Freddie Clarke, Joe Davis, Connor Doherty, Ethan Grayson, Fergus Lee-Warner, Elliott Obatoyinbo, Richard Palframan, Christian Wade.