Premiership Rugby analysis: A detailed look at Newcastle Red Bulls’ 19 signings for next season
Newcastle Red Bulls, formally known as Newcastle Falcons, are currently undergoing a huge change within the club.
Red Bull bought Newcastle Falcons shortly before the start of the current season (July 1, 2025), not only buying the club but paying off large amounts of debt.
A £14.5million government loan from Covid was part of these costs as well as a £4million loan from other Premiership clubs as it was feared that the club could have fallen into financial disrepair like so many other teams have in past seasons.
The total cost to buy the club was £39million, however, the new owners had much more planned than just paying off the club's debts.
19 players have been signed so far in preparation for next season - this is on top of an already productive transfer spell before the current season, signing the likes of Christian Wade, Liam Williams and many more.
Despite a real change in the direction the club are heading in, they have still fallen short of where they would like to be so far this season, only winning one game from a possible 12 so far.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s rugby writer James Corrigan looks at the 19 signings for next season and what each one has to offer the team.
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Elliot Millar Mills
Position - prop
Age - 34
Current club - Northampton Saints
Nationality - Scotland (11 caps)
Elliot Millar Mills, a 34 prop currently playing for both Northampton Saints and Scotland is an experienced prop forward that possesses devastating power in the scrum.
After joining the Saints from Edinburgh in 2023, he has gone on to help them win the Premiership in 2024 as well as earning himself a place in the Scottish national team that he is maintaining to this day.
Pouri Rakete-Stones
Position - prop
Age - 29
Current team -Hurricanes
Nationality - New Zealand
Pouri Rakete-Stones is a versatile prop capable of playing both loosehead and tighthead in the scrum, known for his strength and scrummaging ability - he has earned himself 52 appearances for the Super Rugby side since joining the Hurricanes back in 2020.
He has even made several appearances for the Maori All Blacks and will definitely strengthen Newcastle's options in the front row next season.
James Harper
Position - prop
Age - 25
Current club - Sale Sharks
Nationality - England
A third prop forward signing is heading to the Red Bulls next season, the 25-year-old Liverpool-born player will depart Sale Sharks who he has represented his whole professional career, making a total of 72 appearances so far for the club.
He will add Premiership class to Newcastle's front row options and his age could provide them with a quality player for years to come.
George Turner
Position - hooker
Age - 33
Current club - Harlequins
Nationality - Scotland
George Turner is the last front row signing as of yet for the Red Bulls, the experienced hooker who has an impressive résumé picking up a total of 50 caps for Scotland playing in both the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.
The hooker has shown his impressive skillset throughout his career as well as demonstrating his leadership skills on the pitch and will definitely make an impact with his new club.
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Franco Molina
Position - lock
Age - 28
Current team - Western Force
Nationality - Argentina
This 6’6” lock forward joins Newcastle making his return to the Premiership after spending the 24-25 season with Exeter chiefs.
Molina has had an impressive career so far winning two Super Rugby Americas as well as playing in the Premiership with his current team - the Western Force in Australia.
He has also managed to get 12 caps for his national team including a start in the surprise victory against the British and Irish Lions in 2025.
Cam Jordan
Position - lock
Age - 26
Current club - Gloucester
Nationality - England
Cam Jordan has signed a two-year contract with Newcastle and will join them at the end of the season.
The second row came through Leicester Tigers academy and has proven that he is a Premiership quality player after representing Gloucester since 2020.
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Rusi Tuima
Position - Lock
Age - 26
Current Team - Exeter Chiefs
Nationality - England
Rusi Tuima is the third second row signing so far for Newcastle in preparation for next season, the 26-year-old has made a total of 81 appearances for Exeter scoring an impressive 21 tries.
He has also earned himself 10 caps for England A - making his debut back in 2024.
The powerful lock forward also possesses the versatility of being able to play in the back row, making him an extremely useful signing for Newcastle.
Sam Graham
Position - back row (flanker/number eight)
Age - 29
Current club - Northampton
Nationality - England
A first of many back row signings for Newcastle, Sam Graham is set to join the Red Bulls leaving Northampton Saints.
Sam has picked up 68 appearances so far with his current club and was actually the most capped player in Northampton's title winning season in 2023/24 - starting 20 matches and coming off the bench for eight more.
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Hoskins Sotutu
Position - back row (primarily number eight)
Age - 27
Current team - Blues
Nationality - New Zealand
Hoskins Sotutu is probably the signing that has Newcastle and Premiership rugby fans waiting in anticipation the most.
The Auckland born back rower has had an impressive but controversial career so far, experiencing both highs and lows.
Impressive performances early in his career earned himself a spot in the New Zealand side where he tallied up a total of 14 caps for the All Blacks, however, he has been unable to make the team since his last appearance in November 2022.
This is despite being the Blues star player in their 23/24 title winning season even earning himself the award of “Most Valuable Player”.
It seems that the exclusion from the national team despite his success at club level has driven him away from Super Rugby as he is eligible to play for England through his mother and for Fiji through his father.
Could this signing not only bring world-class talent to the North-East but also to the England national team? Only time will tell.
Allan Ferrie
Age - 26
Position - Back row
Current team - Coventry
Nationality - Scotland
The powerful carrying back rower is yet to prove himself at the highest levels, with his move to the Red Bulls next season being his biggest one yet.
Despite his lack of experience playing the highest level rugby he has still managed to impress the coaching staff in Newcastle due to his excellent performances for Coventry in the Championship this season.
His impressive ball carrying skills have allowed him to score an impressive eight tries in 15 matches so far for Coventry this season.
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Max Hicks
Position - back row (flanker)
Age - 26
Current club - Perpignan
Nationality - New Zealand
Max Hicks is a 6’6” back rower capable of filling in at second row - currently playing in his second season for Perpignan
The flanker has shown his class so far this eason with his excellent turnover skills at the breakdown. He will be another quality addition to the growing Newcastle squad.
Raffi Quirke
Age - 24
Position - scrum-half
Current club - Sale Sharks
Nationality - England
Not only have Newcastle bolstered their numbers in the forwards, but Raffi Quirke is just the first of many new faces that will be seen in Newcastle's backline next season.
The scrum-half follows his team-mate and friend James Harper for the journey up north as he signs a two-year contract with the Red Bulls.
Despite only being 24 years of age, Raffi Quirke has amassed more than 80 appearances for Sale and picked up two caps for England solidifying himself as one of the most threatening attacking scrum-halves in the league.
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Zack Henry
Age - 31
Position - fly-half
Current club - Paris
Nationality - England
The English fly-half is set to make his return to Premiership rugby after leaving Leicester Tigers five years ago to play rugby in France.
The experienced fly-half has a well-rounded game and gets the most out of his team-mates. He is looking forward to getting the full experience of the Premiership since his only time in the league was during Covid.
Joji Nasova
Position - winger/centre
Age - 26
Current team - Fijian Drua
Nationality - Fiji
If the Premiership wingers weren't already entertaining enough, another electric winger with attacking prowess has joined the league through Newcastle.
A former international Sevens player, Joji managed to achieve a silver medal in the Paris Olympics and made the HSBC 2025 Sevens Series dream team following an impressive campaign - scoring a total of 26 tries, joint-top in that tournament.
The Fijian international who recently swapped over from a successful Sevens career has already scored four tries in his first three matches for his nation.
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Will Rigg
Age - 26
Position - Centre
Current team - Exeter
Nationality - England
Will Rigg is another centre who'll be looking to strengthen the Red Bulls backline as he has signed a two-year deal with the club.
The powerful centre has scored a total of 10 tries in his 30 appearances for the Exeter, and will join fellow team-mates Rusi Tuima and Josh Hodge as they are also making the journey from Devon to the North-East.
Brandon Jackson
Age - 24
Position - centre/winger
Current team - Saracens
Nationality - England
Brandon Jackson, another prolific scorer, has signed the contract to head to the North-East.
The young Saracens back has impressed both at Championship and Premiership level with his scoring abilities.
Tallying up a total of 13 tries in 29 matches for his current club.
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Fehi Fineanganofo
Position - centre
Age - 23
Current team - Hurricanes
Nationality - New Zealand
Fehi Fineanganofo could be a name English rugby fans cannot get out of their mouth once he begins his journey with the Red Bulls.
This exciting young talent took all Super Rugby fans by surprise, scoring six tries in 12 games.
He is another exciting signing that has also proved his class in the game of Sevens rugby, even earning himself a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics squad.
Obi Ene
Position - winger
Age - 23
Current club - Saracens
Nationality - England
Another exciting attacking threat will be making his way to Newcastle ahead of the 2026/27 Premiership season.
The 23-year-old has scored a total of seven tries in his 13 appearances for Sale and is excited to make his return to the city of Newcastle as he studied there as a student.
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Josh Hodge
Position - full-back
Age - 26
Current club - Exeter
Nationality - England
An academy graduate return is in order for full-back Josh Hodge. Newcastle fans still remember his length of the field debut try back in 2020 when the young talent emerged into professional rugby.
Since moving to Devon five years ago to join the Chiefs he has shown his exceptional attacking skills, the elusive runner has managed to score 29 tries in 89 matches for Exeter.
Not only is his ball-in-hand play excellent, he also possesses a well-rounded kicking game which will be of help to the Red Bulls next season.
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