Newcastle beat Sale 17-3 as Wade equals PREM try record

Newcastle Red Bulls 17-3 Sale Sharks, Kingston Park

Christian Wade equalled the Gallagher PREM's all-time try-scoring record as Newcastle Red Bulls secured their first league win of the season with a 17-3 victory over Sale Sharks at Kingston Park.

The experienced winger scored his 101st Premiership try to move level with Chris Ashton, reaching the milestone nine minutes into the second half of the Derby Weekend encounter.

George McGuigan also crossed for Newcastle, while Josh Hodge contributed seven points with the boot as the hosts overturned a 3-0 half-time deficit in difficult weather conditions.

Sale Edge Tight First Half

The Red Bulls suffered an early setback when Hoskins Sotutu was forced off injured and replaced by Sam Graham after nine minutes.

Strong winds and driving rain made attacking rugby difficult, with both teams relying heavily on their kicking games.

Sale broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when George Ford landed a penalty from in front of the posts to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Newcastle continued to threaten, with Max Hicks making a dangerous break through the middle of a ruck, but Sale recovered to prevent a try.

The Sharks then came close to extending their advantage after the half-hour mark. However, their effort was ruled out following a TMO review after the ball was held up over the line.

Newcastle produced another strong defensive stand during a series of five-metre scrums to keep the deficit to three points at half-time.

Wade Equals Ashton's Record

The second half brought the moment Newcastle supporters had been hoping for.

In the 49th minute, Wade collected a pass from Will Rigg on the right wing and raced over to score his 101st Premiership try, equalling Ashton's all-time record.

Hodge converted despite the strong wind, putting Newcastle 7-3 ahead and giving the home side the momentum.

The Red Bulls continued to apply pressure, with Hodge adding a penalty around the hour mark to extend the advantage to 10-3.

McGuigan Seals Newcastle Victory

Newcastle maintained their attacking pressure and soon created another opportunity when Rigg's grubber kick forced Sale into conceding a penalty.

The hosts kicked to the corner and established a driving maul near the Sale line. McGuigan powered over from close range for Newcastle's second try, with Hodge adding the conversion to make it 17-3.

Sale continued to search for a response in the closing stages. Ford attempted a cross-field kick towards Tom Roebuck with five minutes remaining, but the winger was unable to gather the ball.

Newcastle defended strongly to prevent any late comeback and complete an important home victory.

The result gave the Red Bulls their first Gallagher PREM win of the campaign, while Wade's historic try provided a memorable moment for the 9,442 supporters at Kingston Park.