Newcastle 19-36 Northampton: Red Bulls search for first PREM win of the season continues

Northampton took the first score of the night, after JJ Van Der Mescht powered over the Newcastle defence, following some heavy pressure in the opening few minutes. Fin Smith converted for a full 7 points. It wasn’t long until they grabbed their second either, Alex Mitchell sniped his way through in the redzone, after a break from Tommy Freeman got them all the way into the 22.

Both sides contested against each other's pressure throughout the first half, however Newcastle finally overcame the challenge 27 minutes in, when Brett Connon kicked across to Oli Spencer, who beat his last defender to score in the corner.

Try-scorer Van Der Mescht was sent to the bin in the 32nd minute after too many Saints penalties, giving Red Bulls another lineout. Amanaki Mafi scored off the back of it to cut Saints’ lead down to two points.

Saints would get the last laugh before the break: going out the back after forward pressure at the line, as Smith put Freeman through a split defence, walking under the sticks for their third try.

Van Der Mescht received a second yellow in the 52nd minute, resulting in a 20-minute red card, after a high tackle on Boeta Chamberlain was deemed too dangerous. Red Bulls would charge up the field, earn themselves a scrum and Stefan Coetzee would score in the corner, coming three minutes into his debut for the club.

Northampton hit back in the 61st minute, as a fast-handling Saints shipped the ball out wide to Edoardo Todaro, scoring in the corner, hoping to pull away from the hosts. Chamberlain thought he had the equalising score minutes later, but the TMO pulled it back after the conversion to penalise Red Bulls for dangerous contact in the build up.

Smith missed his first chance to take Saints two scores clear from the tee, but put a second attempt over the bar, with five minutes to go, to attempt to put the game to bed. However, that was done by Alex Coles, who broke through a tired Newcastle defence, to run in one last try.

Saints go to the top of the Premiership overnight, and remain one of the strongest top four contenders. Newcastle will remain bottom with no points to their name.

TRIES: 3 (Spencer 28’, Mafi 33’, Coetzee 55’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Connon 34’, 56’)

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

15. Boeta Chamberlain 14. Oli Spencer 13. Alex Hearle 12. Max Clark 11. Liam Williams 10. Brett Connon 9. Simón Benítez Cruz 1. Adam Brocklebank 2. George McGuigan (Captain) 3. Richard Palframan 4. Jamie Hodgson 5. Freddie Clark 6. Fergus Lee-Warner 7. Tom Gordon 8. Amanaki Mafi

Replacements

16. Ollie Fletcher 17. Murray McCallum 18. Luan de Bruin 19. Oscar Usher 20. Freddie Lockwood 21. James Elliott 22. Rhys Beeckmans 23. Stefan Coetzee

TRIES: 5 (Van Der Mescht 3’, Mitchell 8’, Freeman 39’, Todaro 61’, Coles 78’)

CONVERSIONS: 4 (Smith 3’, 8’, 40’, 78’)

PENALTIES: 1 (Smith 76’)

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Van Der Mescht 32’)

RED CARDS: 1 (Van Der Mescht 52’)

15. Tommy Freeman 14. Edoardo Todaro 13. Rory Hutchinson 12. Fraser Dingwall 11. Tom Litchfield 10. Fin Smith 9. Alex Mitchell 1. Danilo Fischetti 2. Robbie Smith 3. Trevor Davison 4. Alex Coles 5. JJ Van Der Mescht 6. Josh Kemeny 7. Sam Graham 8. Callum Chick (Captain)

Replacements

16. Craig Wright 17. Emmanuel Iyogun 18. Luke Green 19. Tom Lockett 20. Ed Prowse 21. Henry Pollock 22. Archie McParland 23. Anthony Belleau

A British and Irish Lion over the summer, Freeman was incredible in the 15 role on Friday night. He was solid in the backfield, with an incredible eye for gaps going forward.

The Saints man was a shoe-in for Steve Borthwick during the last Six Nations campaign, scoring in all of the five fixtures, and is proving his case to be one of the first names on the England team sheet.

He was one of the most important men on the pitch for Northampton, with his strong carries setting up tries, and his reliance at the line-outs a big factor in their victory.

Having not played for England since the summer of 2024, has the second-rower done enough to make his way back into the set up?

Another one of Northampton’s Lions, Mitchell featured in every matchday squad over the tour. He scored tries in two warm-up games, as well as featuring in two of the three tests against Australia.

It’s hard to argue against the fact he is the best scrum-half in England, and he proves that more in every match plays, whether for club or country.

At 35-years-old, the Japanese international looks better than ever as he enjoys his first full-time stint in English rugby. The strength with which he carried tonight against a good Saints defence was phenomenal.

Japan face a hugely tiring international window, facing Australia at home, before heading over to Europe, playing the Springboks at Wembley, then away to Ireland, Wales and Georgia after. The new Red Bull could give Japan a new competitive edge to upset some of the odds.

Having just come away from his first stint with the Argentinian national team, Benitez Cruz impressed on debut, with an incredible pace of play which helped Red Bulls take control of the game in their stints.

Playing in Wales, Scotland, then England, the scrum-half could definitely cause some headaches for the three home nations, should Los Pumas choose the former sevens player to run riot in the Autumn.

After three losses from their first three games this season, including a 57-5 smashing from Sale last week, Red Bulls are still struggling to get that first elusive win after the big summer takeover.

The takeover hasn’t been the instant success that may have been for their city siblings Newcastle United, when they were taken over by the PIF in 2021, but may have finally cracked the code to improve on last season’s fortunes, with a spirited performance against a side with a strong international core.

With the headlines pointing towards Owen Farrell missing out on the England squad for the autumn, could Fin Smith’s quiet performance tonight have put doubt on his place in England’s number 10 shirt once again?

The 23-year-old was Steve Borthwick’s go-to pick for the last Six Nations, and with performance tonight, and Harlequins’ Marcus Smith’s magical performance last week against Saracens, there are questions over who wears the famous jersey this Autumn.

After their scare against Gloucester, and their tightly contested win over Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers, their discipline keeps them in games they could be pulling away in.

Even as they showed their class even on one of their weaker days tonight, the Saints are on their way to march into the top-four at the season’s conclusion, but the carelessness of Northampton could cost them a shot at the title.

At 35-years-old, the Japanese international looks better than ever as he enjoys his first full-time stint in English rugby. The strength with which he carried tonight against a good Saints defence was phenomenal.

One of a plethora of international-calibre signings made by Red Bulls this summer, they may have hit the jackpot with Mafi, as he showed his power tonight, as well as grabbing a try to top it all off.

It’s no mystery that set pieces were one of the weaker parts of the Red Bulls’ game. It was mentioned by coaches after most performances in the last two years.

Even in a mistake riddled match tonight, Red Bulls made their successful attempts at the right times, with two of the tries tonight coming off the back of a strong scrum and maul respectively. Could this see a major increase of control in games throughout the season?