Christian Wade has scored 100 Prem tries, one behind the all-time record of 101 held by Chris Ashton, and the Newcastle Red Bulls winger shows no signs of slowing down. A hat-trick away to Exeter Chiefs in their last Prem fixture made Wade only the second player to reach a century of tries. Newcastle host Sale Sharks on Friday night (19:45 BST) as part of the league's derby weekend, giving the 35-year-old his first chance to equal and then surpass Ashton's mark, which has stood for over three years or 1,285 days.
Wade's career has spanned more than 15 years and two other sports. His first Prem try came for Wasps as a teenager in May 2011, the first of 82 for the club. He led the Prem in tries in three seasons, 2012-13, 2016-17 and 2017-18, though a title eluded him when Wasps lost the 2017 final to Exeter at Twickenham. He then spent three seasons with the NFL's Buffalo Bills practice squad, without playing a full NFL game, before two seasons with Racing 92 in Paris, where he scored 10 tries. Gloucester brought him back to the Prem, and he later tried rugby league with Wigan Warriors for six months.
Wade insists the record is not foremost on his mind. "I sometimes feel the record is more important to other people than it is to me," he said. "I am someone who is going to score tries. That's what I do." He credits team cohesion and the system for his scoring, and he has leaned on advice from former Wasps and England centre Riki Flutey to invest in his off-field fitness after a serious foot injury in 2013.
Wade remains a constant danger to Prem defences, with his burst of speed and ability to go both ways and off both feet. Whether he breaks Ashton's record may depend on how Newcastle perform in the coming weeks.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing