It is all change at Newcastle Red Bulls as they prepare for the new Prem season, but they plan to tackle it with the sort of fearless approach for which their owners are renowned. With Red Bull taking over at Kingston Park in August 2025, it was a scramble to get things in place for last season. As a result, Newcastle could not bridge the gap to the other nine teams and finished bottom for a fourth successive campaign, with just two wins in 18 games.

But, after a huge influx of players in the summer, 'Red Bulls 2.0' under new head coach Dan Mc Farland are ready to embrace the challenge as they begin with a daunting trip to champions Northampton Saints on Friday night. "The team starting at the back of the grid against the team on pole position," Mc Farland said. "For us, it's a massive challenge and exactly the sort of thing a Red Bull team would relish going after."

Englishman Mc Farland has returned home after a successful spell in Japan as forwards coach at Kobelco Kobe Steelers. He feels like the first proper appointment by the new ownership. "One of the reasons this was so attractive was trying to pull something together from scratch, basically being a start-up," he said. Newcastle have recruited no fewer than 25 new players for this season.

Mc Farland revealed they benefited from a trip to the organisation's headquarters in Salzburg in Austria in pre-season. "It's not a feeling of 'let's see how it goes'. It's in with two feet and 'we've deliberately chosen you, Newcastle, because we believe we can do special things with you'," he said.