Newcastle Red Bulls finally ended their long winless run in The Premiership, securing a hard-fought 25-19 victory over Gloucester Rugby. The win, their first league triumph since November 2024, brings relief to the club and its supporters after a 19-match drought in Prem rugby union.

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Match Overview: Newcastle vs Gloucester

Newcastle started strong and dominated early proceedings, with captain George McGuigan scoring the opening try from a maul. The Red Bulls went on to extend their lead through a second maul try, this time from Tom Christie, after locks Jamie Hodgson and Arthur Clark were both sin-binned for lashing out.

Simon Benitez Cruz, Argentina’s talented scrum-half, added a third try under the posts, helping Newcastle build a 20-point lead with 20 minutes remaining.

Gloucester fought back impressively, demonstrating their attacking flair. Seb Atkinson created space for Ollie Thorley to score a try early in the second half. Mike Austin and Ciaran Knight also crossed the line, reducing Newcastle’s advantage to just six points. Despite a 20-minute red card for Thorley, Newcastle held firm to seal the win.

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Key Performances

• Tom Christie: Scored his first Premiership try for Newcastle, showing composure in line-outs and mauls.
• Simon Benitez Cruz: Demonstrated attacking class with a crucial try under the posts.
• George McGuigan: Led by example, powering over from the maul to open the scoring.
• Christian Wade: Made his first start for Newcastle in the Premiership but did not score.

Head coach Alan Dickens praised the team’s resilience:

“The performance was fantastic tonight. It has been a long time coming. Gloucester came back strongly at the end, but there are lots of positives. We knew they would try to tire out our front five, and we coped well. There are areas, like converting opportunities into bonus points, that we will look at.”

Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington acknowledged missed chances:

“We were starting to get on top at the end but missed key opportunities. Our forwards didn’t do enough with the early line-outs, and that cost us. We have players returning, and we need to do some business.”

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Standout Facts

• Newcastle Red Bulls ended a 19-match losing streak in The Premiership.
• Their previous Prem win was against Saracens in November 2024.
• Newcastle remain at the bottom of the table, but are now within four points of Gloucester.
• Sin-bins: Jamie Hodgson (Newcastle, 15), Arthur Clark (Gloucester, 15)
• Red card: Ollie Thorley (Gloucester, 47)

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Full Team Line-Ups

Newcastle Red Bulls: Grayson; Wade, Hearle, Arnold, Obatoyinbo; Connon, Benitez Cruz; McCallum, McGuigan (capt), Palframan, Usher, Hodgson, Gordon, Christie, Leatherbarrow.
Replacements: Fletcher, Hancock, De Bruin, Baker, Mafi, Elliott, Chamberlain, Spencer.

Gloucester Rugby: C Atkinson; Cotgreave, Knight, S Atkinson (capt), Thorley; Byrne, Austin; Ruskin, Crane, Fasogbon, Thomas, Clark, Gwynne, Ludlow, Clement.
Replacements: Knowles, Knight, Ford-Robinson, Jordan, Venter, Price, Barton, Hathaway.

Referee: Christophe Ridley