Travelling man Wade equals Prem try record

Christian Wade enjoyed another landmark moment in an extraordinary multi-sport career when he equalled Chris Ashton's all-time English Prem record of 101 tries as Newcastle beat Sale 17-9 on Friday for their first league win of the season.

Wade drew level with Ashton nine minutes into the second half at a blustery Kingston Park when, after good approach play by Newcastle, he sprinted in at the right corner for his sixth try of the campaign.

Wade's career haul is a testament to his enduring speed, elusive running and sheer endurance -- it is more than 15 years since he scored his first try in English rugby union's top flight for Wasps.

"He is a high-energy player and high-energy guy," said Newcastle coach Dan McFarland after Friday's match. "He knows how to find the try-line, which is what all good wingers do.

"I watched him right at the end of the game when we were in their 22 and he's buzzing because he was thinking that might be the opportunity to get one ahead (of Ashton).

"He will get there, goodness willing. He is a tremendous guy and he deserves it."

But while the now-retired Ashton won 44 England caps, Wade, the only other man to have scored a century of Prem tries, has just one.

It is a meagre return for one of the outstanding finishers of his generation, even allowing for the fact that wing has been a highy competitive England position during the 35-year-old Wade's career.

Rugby prides itself on being a sport for all shapes and sizes but Wade, who is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres) tall, has played at a time when the English game has often prefered tall wings, even though the diminutive Cheslin Kolbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey have thrived for South Africa and France.

"For a guy who's not one of the new age of 6ft 3in (1.90 metre) wingers, he (Wade) can dominate the aerial battle, so he's done a really good job for us there," said McFarland.

Misperceptions about Wade's supposed weakness in defence also hampered his international career, which yielded a lone England cap against Argentina in 2013.

Wade scored the bulk of his tries during his seven-year spell at Wasps before leaving rugby union for American football in 2018.

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 team's NFL roster and was released in April 2022.

Wade returned to rugby union with Paris-based Racing 92. He signed for southwest side Gloucester in 2024 before a brief stint in rugby league with Wigan.

He made a second return to union when he joined Newcastle in 2025.

While conscious of the significance of the record, Wade, in the final year of his Newcastle contract, is more concerned about success for his struggling side.

"Sometimes I feel the record is more important to other people than it is to me," he said ahead of Friday's match.

"I'm going to score tries. That's what I do and what I love doing. But it's a result of the team performing well, having cohesion, understanding how we want to play and executing it."