Wade closes in on record as tries dominate Prem — SkimNews
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- The opening round of the new Prem season produced 52 tries across five matches — a record for an opening round — averaging more than 10 per game, with four players scoring hat-tricks.
- Christian Wade scored twice for Newcastle Red Bulls in their 59-26 loss at Northampton Saints, taking his career Prem tally to 97 tries and leaving him four short of Chris Ashton's all-time record of 101.
- Wade, 35, returned to union last December after stints at Racing 92, Wigan Warriors and more than three years with the NFL's Buffalo Bills, where he never made the main squad.
- Red Bulls head coach Dan McFarland credited Wade's time in America with shaping his professionalism, calling the winger a "calming and connecting influence" who sits in the team's leadership group.
- Chris Ashton told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast the 101-try mark will be "absolutely blown to smithereens," pointing to Northampton and England winger Tommy Freeman, 25, who already has 58 career tries after a hat-trick in the same opening match.
- Noah Caluori (Saracens) and Freeman jointly topped last season's try-scoring charts with 18 each, with Caluori once scoring five tries in a single match against Sale Sharks.
- Wade is now the only active player in the all-time top 10, ahead of Tom Varndell (92), Mark Cueto (90) and Danny Care (85).
Why it matters: Wade's chase gives the Prem a rare active-record storyline, but Ashton's own prediction that the 101 mark will be "blown to smithereens" — combined with the 52-try opening round — suggests the modern game's attacking shape could see 25-year-old Tommy Freeman, already on 58 tries, surpass Wade and Ashton within five years.
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