Northern | US

Newcastle confirm intake of 7 rookies including 17-year-old sensation

Jake Dalziel of Scotland kicks the ball upfield during the U20 Six Nations 2026 match between Scotland and England at Hive Stadium - Edinburgh Rugby Stadium on February 13, 2026 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Comments
Comment

Scotland’s 17-year-old U20 Six Nations player of the Championship nominee Jake Dalziel is one of seven players who will join Newcastle Red Bulls on full-time rookie contracts for next season.

ADVERTISEMENT

The fly-half, son of Scotland and British & Irish Lions forwards coach John, made his Scotland U20 debut at the beginning of the Six Nations, marking his debut against Italy with a try and the player of the match accolade.

The 1.95m playmaker, who won’t turn 18 until August, will join the club from Melrose in Scotland alongside Charlie Dinneen (fly-half/full-back), Will Graham (hooker), Harry Hawkins (wing/centre), Euan Oakes (back-row), Nathan Rickerby (prop) and Alfie Warwick (wing).

VIDEO

On top of the seven rookie contracts, Oliver Ashton (centre) and Jack Nesbitt (hooker) will join on university scholar agreements, while summer trials have been offered to Charlie Evans (back-row) and Oliver Green (centre).

“The rookie contract is a full-time standardised contract across all of the clubs for two years which gives the players a good opportunity to live as a full-time professional, and we have seven lads coming to us on that basis,” said pathways and academy director John Fletcher.

Fixture
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle
11:45
30 May 26
Sale
All Stats and Data

“A number of them are considering university. Most of them have offers which we are working through at the moment, and then slightly different to that are our two university scholar contracts for Oliver Ashton and Jack Nesbitt. Those two lads are going to university, their playing programme will have university rugby as its priority and they’ll train and play with us around those commitments.

“In addition we also have Charlie Evans and Oliver Green spending a couple of months on trial with us over pre-season. They have both demonstrated some ability and we want to have a look at them in a professional environment.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Head of academy James Ponton added: “We had a strong Under-18s cohort this season and it has been difficult selecting which players to contract on a full-time basis, but we’re really excited about this year’s intake.

“The increased number of players joining our senior academy is a reflection of the ability within the group, and we’ve really bolstered our resources as an academy to give the guys the appropriate level of coaching and infrastructure in supporting them coming through.

“It feels new and different to how the senior academy has worked before, with having such a big group, but we’re looking forward to it.

“As well as increasing our coaching and support staff we’re also looking at getting the guys out playing more rugby alongside their programmes here, be it clubs, universities or a combination of both. We’re strengthening those links all the time in putting the players’ development at the forefront, because playing regular rugby is incredibly important for them.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

RugbyPass App Download

News, stats, live rugby and more! Download the new RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!


Whether you’re looking for somewhere to track upcoming fixtures, a place to watch live rugby or an app that shows you all of the latest news and analysis, the RugbyPass rugby app is perfect.

Apply for RWC2027 Tickets Now 🏉

Go All Out and apply for tickets to Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027!

Apply Now
Applications close 2 June.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Copied to clipboard

Share Article close