Wade set to break Prem try-scoring record
· Yahoo Sports
Newcastle boss Dan McFarland is confident Christian Wade will break Prem Rugby's try-scoring record.
The 35-year-old former England winger scored a hat-trick in Newcastle's 34-28 loss at Exeter to take his tally to 100 over his career.
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Wade needs just one more try to equal Chris Ashton's record of 101, which was set in April 2023.
"Christian is a really good man, an excellent connector," McFarland told BBC Sport.
"He'd be in our leadership group because of his capacity to be able to connect with everybody across the squad. He's a really good temperature taker."
Wade scored the bulk of his tries during his seven-year spell at Wasps before leaving rugby union for American football in 2018 as part of their international player programme.
He joined the Buffalo Bills in 2019 and scored a touchdown on his very first play in a pre-season game.
But he did not break into the side's NFL roster and was released in April 2022 where he moved to France to playing with Racing 92.
He returned to England in 2024 with Gloucester and after a short spell joined Newcastle in 2025.
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"In terms of what he brings on the field, he's got the dancing feet, he's got the speed and he's got a danger out there that has to be marked," added McFarland.
"For a guy who's not one of the new age of 6ft 3in wingers, he can dominate the aerial battle, so he's done a really good job for us there.
"He obviously brings a lot of professionalism as well from his time in the NFL and understanding of what it is to be a professional athlete.
"It's not just a job, it's a lifestyle and he exudes that."
Having scored a hat-trick against his side, Exeter boss Rob Baxter knows first-hand how tough it is to stop Wade.
"He's still a challenge but to be fair, it's a nicer challenge now than it was a few years ago," he told BBC Sport.
"Fair play to him, now he's still performing well and he's obviously still got a great top-end pace but I think now you kind of know you've got to work together, get across the pitch nice and early.
"I think on the whole we defended him pretty well but I think Newcastle created opportunities for him really well as well.
"It's a hell of an achievement - but I'd have liked him not to have got to 100 tries playing against us today!"
Prem Rugby's top 10 leading try-scorers
101 - Chris Ashton (Northampton, Saracens, Sale, Harlequins, Worcester, Leicester)
100 - Christian Wade (Wasps, Gloucester, Newcastle)
92 - Tom Varndell (Leicester, Wasps, Bristol)
90 - Mark Cueto (Sale)
85 - Danny Care (Leeds, Harlequins)
78 - Jonny May (Gloucester, Leicester)
75 - Steve Hanley (Sale)
72 - Mike Brown (Harlequins, Newcastle, Leicester)
71 - Matt Banahan (Bath, Gloucester)
69 - Paul Sackey (Bedford, London Irish, Wasps, Harlequins)