The Prem
Newcastle (15) 25
Tries: McGuigan, Christie, Cruz Cons: Connon 2 Pens: Connon 2
Gloucester (5) 19
Tries: Thorley, Austin, Knight Cons: Byrne 2
Newcastle Red Bulls tasted victory in The Prem for the first time since 2024 as they finally ended a 19-match losing streak with a 25-19 win against Gloucester.
The Red Bulls had a 20-point lead with 20 minutes left but were hanging on at the end to joyously celebrate a first league win since their takeover last August.
Gloucester rallied to pile on the late pressure but could not find a fourth and decisive try.
Prolific wing Christian Wade did not score on his first Prem start for Newcastle but there were first tries for Tom Christie and Simon Benitez Cruz in an energetic display.
Newcastle remain bottom of the table but are now within four points of Gloucester, and they took the lead early when captain George McGuigan barrelled over from a maul.
Gloucester had no answer to the Newcastle forwards early on, and when locks Jamie Hodgson and Arthur Clark were both sin-binned for lashing out at each other, the resulting penalty brought a second try for the hosts.
Again it came from a line-out and a maul as Christie touched down his first in Newcastle colours.
The visitors then showed some sparkling rugby to cut the lead, Seb Atkinson punching a hole through midfield and finding Ollie Thorley to run untouched into the corner.
Newcastle led by 10 at the break but with a dreadful record of three wins in 52 Prem games behind them, second-half nerves were understandable.
Argentina scrum-half Benitez Cruz showed his class to break away and score under the posts, and when Thorley was then shown a 20-minute red card for a high tackle Newcastle looked home and dry.
But Mike Austin found space to go under the posts, and when Ciaran Knight scored his first try since 2022 to cut the lead to just six points, Newcastle were forced to dig deep and grind out a huge win.
Newcastle: 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.
Sin-bin: Hodgson (15)
Gloucester: 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.
Sin-bin: Clark (15).
Red card: Thorley (47).
Referee: Christophe Ridley.
