Newcastle Red Bulls: Christian Wade can give us attacking lift, says Dickens

Wade, 34, has come back to rugby union following a short stint in rugby league with Wigan Warriors and with an eye on overhauling Chris Ashton’s record of 101 as the all-time leading try-scorer in Prem Rugby.

He needs nine more tries to claim the record.

Red Bulls have lost all seven of their league games this season and it is in attack where there is the biggest difference with Newcastle’s tally of 14 tries well below the top six who have all scored at least 30.

In the match against Bath at Kingston Park, the hosts grabbed just two tries from eight entries into Bath’s 22, whereas the defending champions scored from eight of their 12 visits into Newcastle’s territory.

“Being clinical is a massive factor in the outcome of the game and Bath were far more clinical than us,” said Dickens.

“Against the Lions, our defence was outstanding but we allowed them to get into our 22. That’s what happened at the weekend and against a team like Bath, we suffered.”