Saracens 73-14 Newcastle Red Bulls - Eleventh heaven for Saracens as Noah Caluori clips Red Bulls' wings

Sunday, 25 January 2026 at 20:14

byCharlie Elliott

Newcastle Red Bulls have their wings clipped by Saracens flyer Noah Caluori as the North London side ramp to a dominant 73-14 win before the Six Nations break.

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Both sides would love a victory, with the hosts aiming to bounce back following an underwhelming trip to Scotstoun in the final round of the Investec Champions Cup.

The visitors started the better of the two sides, catching the hosts cold, and a mismatch in the midfield saw the Red Bulls breakaway. Some good defensive work from Saracens looked to keep the ball up, before Oscar Usher found a gap to bundle over, Brett Connon adding the early extras.

The London side have been criticised this season over their sluggish starts and inconsistency in performances, and this looked to continue as after another bit of Newcastle pressure saw Tom Christie go over to score.

This would then be disallowed by the ref, deeming the back rower was tackled out of play by the young scrum-half Charlie Bracken coming up with a brilliant cover tackle.

A warning sign for the home side would be reacted to in fine fashion, a penalty try in the corner after a deliberate knock on from Simon Benitez Cruz, before a worldie of a score from winger Rotimi Segun, who kicked on and gathered to touchdown, 14-7.

The hosts were on the up and would get their third and fourth tries just before the break, Noah Caluori with both of the scores, the first one off the back of an Elliot Daly grubber kick, with his second getting the better of Elliot Obatoyinbo with a hand off, then swan diving over the line, Owen Farrell adding both kicks, 28-7.

Traditionally, the hosts have been very good off the boot and with the wind behind them in the second half, it would make the Red Bulls’ challenge even harder.

Two tries in the opening four minutes of the second half confirmed the result for the home side, if it wasn’t already out of doubt.

Andy Onyeama Christie did what the other Christie failed to do, touching down under the posts following a bouldering Tom Willis run, before Caluori secured his hat-trick with a neat pick up and score in the corner, 40-7.

It would look to be a torrid afternoon for the travelling faithful as their side would struggle to clear their lines in windy conditions.

A raft of changes saw a standing ovation for club legend Jamie George following his announcement of retirement this past week, with his replacement James Hadfield instantaneously getting on the scoresheet.

A driving maul from the lineout put the replacement hooker in the best position to break off the back and score in the corner.

With the bonus point already well secured, the hosts didn’t slow down.

Eroni Mawi and then another from James Hadfield extended the home side's lead to 54 points as Farrell's impressive afternoon from the boot continued, 61-7.

He may have been left out of the England Six Nations squad, but Caluori was making sure his name would be waiting in the wings if Steve Borthwick needed anyone to step up.

His fourth try of the afternoon proved why he is one of the most exciting youngsters in the Premiership, touching down in the corner yet again, Nick Tompkins breakaway carving open the visitors defence before offloading to the 19-year-old to score.

The pressure had proved too much for the Red Bulls as they would concede an 11^th try of the afternoon, Welsh international Tompkins using his strength and power to go under the sticks.

A horrible afternoon for Newcastle would end on a slightly positive note, Ruben Parsons finding a wide-open gap in the red and black defensive line to score a consolation try. Connon added the two to make it 73-14.

Both teams now head into the Prem Cup break with the Guinness Six Nations on the near horizon, with Saracens keeping their name in the shout for a late chance at a play-off place with eight games remaining.

Saracens- 73

TRIES: Penalty (8’), Segun (16’), Caluori (23’, 31’, 43’, 75’), Christie (41’), Hadfield (53’, 64’), Mawi (61’), Tompkins (78’)
CONVERSIONS: Farrell (17’, 24’, 32’, 42’, 54’, 62’, 65’, 79’)
PENALTIES:
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0

Starting XV:

15. Elliot Daly 14. Noah Caluori 13. Alex Lozowski 12. Nick Tompkins 11. Rotimi Segun 10. Owen Farrell © 9. Charlie Bracken 8. Tom Willis 7. Andy Onyeama-Christie 6. Theo McFarland 5. Hugh Tizard 4. Nick Isiekwe 3. Marco Riccioni 2. Jamie George 1. Rhys Carre

Replacements:

16. James Hadfield 17. Eroni Mawi 18. Tietie Tuimauga 19. Harry Wilson 20. Juan Martin Gonzalez 21. Ivan Van Zyl 22. Fergus Burke 23. Max Malins

Newcastle Red Bulls- 14

TRIES: Usher (2’), Parsons (80’)
CONVERSIONS: Connon (3’, 80’)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0

Starting XV:

15. Ethan Grayson 14. Christian Wade 13. Alex Hearle 12. Sammy Arnold 11. Elliot Obatoyinbo 10. Brett Connon 9. Simon Benitez Cruz 8. Freddie Lockwood 7. Tom Christie 6. Tom Gordon 5. Jamie Hodgson 4. Oscar Usher 3. Richard Palframan 2. George McGuigan 1. Murray McCallum

Replacements:

16. Ollie Fletcher 17. Adam Brocklebank 18. Luan De Bruin 19. Finn Baker 20. Ruben Parsons 21. James Elliot 22. Cameron Hutchinson 23. Ollie Spencer

Five talking Points

Mark McCall excited for the rest of the season after his stepping down announcement:

Saracens director of Rugby, Mark McCall, announced that he would be stepping down from the Director of Rugby role at the end of the season. He has been in charge for the past 15 years and will be taking on the technical director role at the club instead. Post-Match he emphasised his belief in his squad, saying he still feels the squad is good enough to compete for trophies this season.

Steve Borthwick’s decision not to include Noah Caluori

The announcement from Steve Borthwick mid-week saw youngster Noah Caluori omitted from the England Six Nations Squad. But after his five tries earlier on in the season and then another four tries today, plenty are asking how he has not been included in the squad. His debut season has been sensational, and with his aerial game, he is emerging as a shining talent for the future of English rugby.

Race for the top 4 could still be on

Saracens have generously given other teams a head start, but with players starting to step up and perform, and now more points on the board, there is real belief for the playoff chase. They will need to hope that fixtures elsewhere go their way and that they can pick up form and consistency, home and away. With eight games remaining in the Prem this season, they could still be on for a favourable end to the calendar.

Charlie Bracken could be a 50/60 England-capped player in the future:

Saracens have been blessed with talent at scrum half over the years, with Richard Wigglesworth and Ben Spencer among a long list of players. Charlie Bracken seems to be the next of the generational talents to come through the Sarries ranks. His speed of ball, breakdown awareness and ball in hand play set the home side on the front foot from minute one. With guidance from Owen Farrell as his half-back partner and the arrival of British and Irish Lion, Tomos Williams, next season, he could flourish into an incredible player.

Red Bull is still struggling to give Newcastle wins:

Away from the opening six minutes, the Red Bulls were on the back foot with no real power or control over the game. They were completely suffocated by the Saracens, with players like Brett Connon and Elliot Obatoyinbo not able to get any of their game to the forefront. Christian Wade's chance of breaking Chris Ashton’s try-scoring record also seems to be on a tightrope as he wasn’t able to get into the game whatsoever, other than a foot race for the ages against Saracens’ Rotimi Segun. New signings will help, and next season this side could look very different.