Newcastle Red Bulls team to face Saracens

Boeta Chamberlain makes his Newcastle Red Bulls debut tomorrow when they kick off the new Gallagher PREM season at home to Saracens.

The 7.45pm kick-off at Kingston Park sees the South African starting at full-back as Steve Diamond’s men look to continue the momentum from their PREM Rugby Cup victory over Harlequins a fortnight ago.

George McGuigan captains the side just one score away from his 50^th Newcastle try, with the prolific hooker having crossed 49 times in his 166 appearances for the club.

Amanaki Mafi continues at No.8 after a powerful debut, and there could be first outings for fellow summer arrivals Freddie Clarke and Fergus Lee-Warner, who are both named among the replacements.

Former Saracen Elliott Obatoyinbo is in line to play his 50^th game for Newcastle should he be called upon from the bench, with the full-back having recovered from a knee injury sustained at Leicester on the final day of last season.

Newcastle were 17-12 winners when they hosted Saracens in November of last year and took a four-try bonus point from April’s away game, but director of rugby Steve Diamond knows the Londoners are not to be taken lightly.

He said: “It was important to get that win against Harlequins because a lot of people on and off the field have been working really hard over the summer, and also for our supporters to celebrate the start of our new era.

“That said, we’re not going to go over the top because we know it was a cup game with a number of players missing from both teams. But a big crowd came along to watch a good game of rugby, and ultimately we were reasonably happy.

“Saracens in the Gallagher PREM will be a big step up in quality and intensity, and it’s a great test for us. They’ve got an incredible squad, and by their own admission they probably took us a little bit for granted last season. I’m sure that won’t be the case this time round, and we’ve got full respect for what they’re going to bring.

“If we get our basics right – challenging the breakdown, managing the game and keeping our discipline – then we’ll stand a chance, so that’s what a lot of our focus has been on during the build-up.”

Gradually dripping in his summer signings as they arrive on Tyneside, Diamond explained: “We’ve got a few lads making debuts who will hopefully start to make a difference for us, but the majority of the squad is the same as last year.

“More will arrive over the coming weeks and months as our new signings start to filter in, but people need to understand this isn’t a quick fix. It takes time to build a squad from where we were, and that’s the job that we’re working hard at. This first block will be tough, but I believe we’ll get more and more competitive as the season progresses.”

Asked whether McGuigan’s position as captain is a permanent or temporary appointment, the Newcastle boss explained: “George and I are quite cool about it, to be fair.

“He’s a good leader, he doesn’t have to be named captain to do that, but it’s working well for the moment. When he needs a bit of a rest we’ll give it to somebody else who is of a similar mind-set, but George has been great and we’re both pretty relaxed about the whole captaincy thing.”

Excited by the new era at Kingston Park following Red Bull’s takeover, Diamond insists he is focused on the here and now of preparing his team, saying: “We’ll see as we go along in terms of the bigger picture, but people in all departments of the club have now got more of a foundation behind them in terms of supporting them to do their jobs.

“With that comes an added pressure for all of us to raise our standards across the board, but everybody understands that and we’re rising to the challenge. That’s what professional sport is all about – and like they say, pressure makes diamonds!

“Our fans are certainly voting with their feet, as we saw with the Harlequins crowd being our biggest ever home cup attendance. The Saracens game looks like being our first sell-out in more than seven years, and you can really feel the buzz throughout the region about what’s going on here.

“As well as the rugby we’ve also got Red Bull’s razzmatazz and marketing expertise, meaning people stay longer and have a great time when they come here. The atmosphere in the ground is fantastic, and chatting to some of the supporters who’ve been coming here for years, they’ve not seen anything like it.

“But it all starts with being competitive on the rugby field week in, week out, and that’s where my focus is.”

Newcastle Red Bulls v Saracens (Friday, 7.45pm, Kingston Park, live on Discovery+

15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Max Clark, 11 Alex Hearle, 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 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Fergus Lee-Warner, 21 Freddie Lockwood, 22 James Elliott, 23 Elliott Obatoyinbo.

Not available for selection: Eduardo Bello, Simon Benitez Cruz, Tim Cardall, Tom Christie, Stefan Coetzee, Joe Davis, Connor Doherty, Joel Grayson.