Stephen Jones on the 'different challenge' he now faces with Red Bulls

Stephen Jones played over 100 times for Wales and the British and Irish Lions during a long-playing career, but now he faces his biggest challenge, picking up some points for Newcastle Red Bulls.

On Monday, Jones, a Grand Slam winner 20 years ago, became the Red Bulls’ third head coach this season after the departures of Steve Diamond in October and Alan Dickens.

The Red Bulls have only tasted victory once in the PREM since 2024, which was against Gloucester in January, and Jones’ debut in charge couldn’t be more difficult away at the top of the table, Northampton Saints.

Jones will be at the club next season, working under new boss Dan McFarland and alongside Calum MacRae and says that he won’t be afraid to make the difficult decisions.

“It’s temporary, we’ve got nine games, hopefully more to go when it’s a case of just growing our game and changing habits until the end of the season.

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Northampton

28 - 27

Full-time

Newcastle

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“The role is certainly different. You need to have a holistic approach. You have to be across the departments, making sure everything’s aligned. So, it’s definitely a different challenge.

“I find the players here fantastic and really committed to growing our game. I’ve only been in the role for four days, you’ve got to be true to yourself, who you are as a person. ?

“I think the players would be the first ones to pick up and witness if they were changing. Ultimately, there are calls to be made from a selection perspective.

“And you have to be as honest as you can be on that front, that’s all you can do. What’s the best fit for this week might be different for the following week.

“As a coach, you sort of develop your own philosophies and your own principles of play that you’re going to be comfortable with and learning the art of being able to coach and understanding people.

“This role is different in the sense that you’ve got to be clear to the group on how you want the team to play from both sides of the ball. So that’s probably the biggest difference this week,” he said.