Club Rugby

Prem preview: Newcastle Red Bulls – Hoskins Sotutu the right man to get the juices flowing

Newcastle Red Bulls head into their first full season under Red Bull with a major rebuild and Hoskins Sotutu among the new arrivals expected to make an immediate impact.

by
Paul Rees
20 September 2026

There will be more attention lavished on Newcastle Red Bulls than they have become used to since the days of Sir John Hall following the takeover by Red Bull.

It is Newcastle’s first full season under the new owners who wasted no time in recruiting players from all over to not just end a run of four successive last place finishes but plot a move up the table.

Last weekend’s Prem Cup victory at holders Leicester Tigers has to be a statement of intent.

Newcastle won in the same competition at Northampton Saints last season, but it was only in the Challenge Cup that they made any sort of impact.

The Red Bulls will not have time to feel their way into the season.

Their first three matches are against teams who finished in the top four last season.

A home encounter with Leicester sandwiched by trips to champions Northampton and Exeter Chiefs.

“If you could set up a script for a new group of players going away to the champions in round one, it couldn’t be any better,” said head coach Dan McFarland.

“I absolutely love that as a storyline, and it will get the juices flowing for us and our supporters I’m sure.”

One to watch: Hoskins Sotutu

Red Bulls have rebuilt ambitiously. Sotutu’s explosive carrying, athletic defence and broken-field threat could make him the league’s most exciting new arrival.

Explosive: New Zealand flanker Hoskins Sotutu

PICTURE: Getty Images

Ins and outs

In: Hoskins Sotutu (Bulls), Josh Hodge, Rus Tuima, Will Rigg (all Exeter Chiefs), Franco Molina (Western Force), Elliot Millar Mills, Sam Graham, Tom West (all Northampton Saints), Raffi Quirke, James Harper, Obi Ene (all Sale Sharks), Fehi Fineanganofo, Pouri Rakete-Stones (both Hurricanes), Cam Jordan (Gloucester Rugby),Max Hicks (Perpignan), Zack Henry (Stade Francais), George Turner (Harlequins), Brandon Jackson, Samson Adejimi (both Saracens), Allan Ferrie (Coventry), Benjamin Elizalde (Bristol Bears), Chris Harris (Bath Rugby), Werner Kok (Ulster), Zuriel Togiatama (Fijian Drua), Francisco Moreno (Tarucas)

Out: Callum Hancock, Connor Hancock (both Doncaster Knights), Fergus Lee-Warner (Grenoble), John Hawkins (Worcester Warriors), Tim Cardall, Max Clark, Freddie Clarke, Stefan Coetzee, Luan de Bruin, Sebastian de Chaves, Jack Dickens, Connor Doherty, Bryn Gordon, Thomas Gordon, Jamie Hodgson, Freddie Lockwood, Amanaki Mafi, Cameron Neild, Elliott Obatoyinbo, Sam Stuart (all released), Eduardo Bello (Ulster), Jamie Clark (Cornish Pirates), Junior Newton (Darlington MP), Joel Grayson (Blackheath), Boeta Chamberlain (Lions)