Northampton Saints v Newcastle Red Bulls: Big match preview

Venue: cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton

Date and kick-off time: Saturday, March 21, 2026, 3pm

Weather forecast: 13c, sunny

Live television coverage: TNT Sports Extra, discovery+

Referee: Ian Tempest

Assistant referees: Adam Leal and John Meredith

No.4: Anthony Woodthorpe

TMO: Harry Pearson

Saints: 15 George Furbank; 14 James Pater, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Tom Litchfield, 11 James Ramm; 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Robbie Smith, 3 Luke Green; 4 Ed Prowse, 5 Chunya Munga; 6 Tom Lockett, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Callum Chick (c).

Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom West, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 20 Charlie Ulcoq, 21 Tom James, 22 Toby Thame, 23 Ollie Sleightholme.

Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo; 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo; 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 George McGuigan (c), 3 Richard Palframan; 4 Freddie Clarke, 5 Adam Scott; 6 Reuben Parsons, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Murray McCallum, 18 Nicky Little, 19 John Hawkins, 20 Tom Gordon, 21 James Elliott, 22 Rhys Beeckmans, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.

Not considered for Saints selection: Archie Benson, Alex Coles, Trevor Davison, Sam Graham, George Hendy, Josh Kemeny, Henry Lumley, Elliot Millar Mills, Alex Mitchell, Edoardo Todaro, JJ van der Mescht.

Most recent meeting: February 20, 2026: Newcastle Red Bulls 21 Saints 49 (PREM Rugby Cup – pool stages)

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson: "With the (Red Bull) takeover that's happened, Newcastle have huge ambitions and huge aspirations and that's obviously going to take some time. They've already recruited really well and it's only a matter of time before all that sticks. I think Stephen Jones is a great appointment for them and you've already seen the fruits of his labour in terms of how they play and how dangerous they are from an attacking point of view. They've always had a very, very competitive pack and I know (Newcastle forwards coach) Micky Ward well from playing with him. They'll be a handful and we're going to have to be right on our mettle to get it right. We've had some good games against them but this will be a different group to the one we faced in the PRC and they’ll be looking to upset us. We've got to make sure we get into our game, get moving and perform in the right manner."

Newcastle Red Bulls head coach Stephen Jones: “It’s been busy, I’m not going to lie, but it’s been good. The management here are really helping me and we’ve got a good senior playing group who lead well, which makes my job a lot easier. We’ve also had a couple of weeks without a game which has enabled us to get in some good work, and it feels like we’ve used the time wisely. Despite us being in late March we’ve still actually got a good chunk of the league season left to go, as well as the prospect of European knockout rugby, which everyone is looking forward to. You’ve got to be excited about the prospect of facing Northampton in a packed stadium on their own turf. We’ve got a huge amount of respect towards Northampton for the brand of rugby that their management and playing group have put in place, but from our perspective these are the games where you want to show your best and test your skills against the top sides.”

Opposition dangerman: Argentina scrum-half Simón Benítez Cruz is a lively presence and he is capable of causing problems if given the chance.

Tom Vickers’ prediction: Newcastle always put up a real fight and they pushed Saints close at Kingston Park, but with the sun out and some key men back, the black, green and gold should get the job done here. Saints 38 Newcastle 22.