Newcastle 26-19 Perpignan: Christian Wade stars as Red Bulls book in Challenge Cup knock-out stage

It would be Perpignan who took the lead, catching Red Bulls cold, but the score from the visitors woke the home side up, and they responded well with Christian Wade scoring his first try for the club, and from then onwards Newcastle looked to control the game and added three more tries and the bonus point to see themselves into the next round of the Challenge Cup.

The visitors struck first through Peceli Yato. It all came from Tom Echohard’s break a few minutes earlier, and the visitors camped well inside Red Bulls territory, and the home side caved after good pressure from the visitors, with Yato using his size well to get through the ruck and score on the left-hand side.

That try from Perpignan had woken Red Bulls up, and from that, Christian Wade was found by a high ball and got under it well and danced his way through the Perpignan defence to get over the line, brilliance from the winger a great way to get his first try for the club. The first chance Red Bulls got close to the try line, they converted.

Only a few minutes later, Newcastle would have another. Sammy Arnold broke from 30 metres out, and the Perpignan defence couldn’t stop him once he got going, and he flew over the line to extend Newcastle’s lead.

Perpignan got their second with only a few minutes to the break. Bruce Devaux went over on the right-hand side. The try had come from the intentional knock on by fly half Ethan Grayson only moments before, which saw him head to the bin, and the French outfit worked it well to get their second try of the game.

It was a great start to the half for Newcastle. Only five minutes into the half, they scored their third try through Elliot Obatoyinbo. It was their best try of the game by some way, with good passing movement all coming from Oli Spencer’s kick chase down the opposite side. It found the fullback in space, and a good bit of footwork saw him go over to extend his side’s lead.

Newcastle would get the bonus point just before the hour mark, with captain George McGuigan scoring from a great driving maul, which saw the skipper get the try.

The 14 men of Perpignan were not down and out as they pegged Newcastle back through Maxim Granell. The visitors broke well and outnumbered the Red Bulls, and the winger scored in the corner to set up a nervy finish at Kingston Park.

In the final moments, Tom Christie did brilliantly to get over the ball and earn possession back for his team, resulting in Ethan Grayson smashing the ball over the top of the West Stand to secure the win for Newcastle Red Bulls and earn their spot in the next round of the competition.

Tries: Christian Wade, Sammy Arnold, Elliott Obatoyinbo, George McGuigan.

Conversions: Ethan Grayson 3.

Yellow Cards: 1 Ethan Grayson

Red Cards: 0

Starting XV (With Replacements): 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold (Nathan Greenwood, 70), 11 Oli Spencer (Cameron Hutchison, 57), 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Murray McCallum (Adam Brocklebank, 47), 2 George McGuigan (captain, Ollie Fletcher, 70), 3 Richard Palframan (Luan de Bruin, 56), 4 Tim Cardall (Finn Baker, 47), 5 Seb de Chaves (Cameron Neild, 62), 6 Oscar Usher, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Tom Gordon.

Tries: Peceli Yato, Bruce Devaux, Maxim Granell.

Conversions: Hugo Reus 2.

Yellow Cards: 1 Jordan Petaia

Perpignan: 15 Lucas Dubois, 14 Jordan Petaia, 13 Job Poulet, 12 Duncan Paia'aua, 11 Maxim Granell, 10 Hugo Reus; 9 Tom Ecochard, 1 Bruce Devaux (Lorencio Boyer-Gallardo, 47), 2 Victor Montgaillard, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 4 Peceli Yato (Posolo Tuilagi, 47), 5 Adrien Warion (Nemo Roelofse, 47), 6 Bastien Chinarro, 7 Mahamadou Diaby, 8 Lucas Velarte (captain, Mathieu Tanguy, 40).

Although the Red Bulls don’t have a lot of current England Internationals on their books now, their newfound form and new era could see some of their players called into Steve Borthwick’s plans, especially after the display of some of their English contingent on Saturday.

Wade was back to his best on Saturday, scoring his first try in Newcastle colours, dancing round the Perpignan defence to get over the line. Every time he would get the ball, the crowd would erupt in excitement and get off their feet to watch Wade run at the opposition. You could feel the Perpignan players get anxious each time Wade would get the ball in his hands because he is so direct and skilful and knows where the try line is.

Wade hasn’t played for England since 2013 and only has one cap to his name. We know how blessed England is with wingers, but with Wade back in the Prem and hunting down the try scoring record if he can continue this form, he could be in with an outside shot to return.

The 27-year-old fullback was also a try scorer on Saturday, showing great feet to evade the Perpignan defence to weave himself over the try line. He was another strong performer and showed his class, especially under the high ball. He was also vital in stopping a Perpignan break late on and showed his pace to stop the attack and kick it clear into touch.

The fullback is in his fourth season on Tyneside and is turning into a key player in this new era for Newcastle. The Saracens youth product is uncapped for England, and like Wade, England are spoilt for choice in his position with the likes of Freddie Steward, George Furbank & Marcus Smith all head in the pecking order. Like the rest of the players on the list, if this form is kept by the Red Bulls, then Obatoyinbo could reap the rewards.

Oscar Usher was superb again on Saturday, winning the player of the match. The 21-year-old is full of plaudits on Tyneside and seems to be getting better and better each game. The forward has had a successful start to the year, most recently being nominated for December’s RPA 15 Under 23 MVP for his performances throughout December.

Usher has had quite the rise in the past year, from playing in BUCS for Northumbria University to being a regular in the Premiership. I’m not calling for Oscar to be getting called up now, but he is one to keep an eye on for the future.

The fly-half was calm and composed and showed a mature display on Saturday, scoring three conversions on top of that to see his side through to the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup for the first time in four years. The 23-year-old has recently signed a new contract for Newcastle, showing the club's belief in his ability, and the former England Under-20s International is producing good performances week in week out. The son of former England International Paul Grayson can play a variety of positions, showcasing why he could be an asset to Steve Borthwick going forward.

England have unbelievable options in the no 10 position, so Grayson's inclusion seems a long way off, but as I keep on reiterating, this team is gaining momentum and the whole Red Bull project will elevate this club to the next level and if Grayson can continue to be at the heart of these performances he can be a familiar name in years to come.