Christian Wade reaches 97 Premiership tries, four short of Ashton record

Christian Wade has moved within four tries of Chris Ashton's Premiership record after scoring twice for Newcastle Red Bulls in their 59-26 defeat at Northampton Saints. BBC Sport reported that the 35-year-old winger now has 97 tries in the competition, leaving him four short of matching Ashton's 101 and five away from setting a new mark.

Wade's double formed part of an unusually high-scoring start to the season. The league's 10 clubs produced 52 tries across five matches, a record for an opening round, while four players registered hat-tricks. Northampton's Tommy Freeman was among them, scoring three times in the same match to take his own Premiership career total to 58 at the age of 25.

For Wade, the two scores also matched his entire league return for Newcastle last season. He rejoined rugby union with the club in December after a spell with rugby league side Wigan Warriors, having made clear that he wanted to pursue Ashton's total. His Premiership tries have been accumulated with Wasps, Gloucester and Newcastle, and more than 15 years have passed since his first in the competition for Wasps.

That pursuit has continued through a career extending beyond English rugby union. Wade played for Racing 92 in France and spent more than three years with the Buffalo Bills in American football, although he did not reach their main squad. According to the BBC's list of the competition's 10 leading try scorers, he is the only player in that group who remains active.

Newcastle head coach Dan McFarland told BBC Sport that Wade's acceleration and ability to evade defenders remained difficult for opponents to handle. He also credited the winger's NFL experience with shaping his preparation and approach to looking after himself. McFarland said Wade was part of Newcastle's leadership group, highlighting his support for younger players and his ability to connect with team-mates.

Ashton still holds the record, with Wade second ahead of Tom Varndell on 92 and Mark Cueto on 90. Further down the career standings, Freeman's opening-round treble followed a season in which he and Saracens' Noah Caluori each scored 18 league tries. Those were the highest season-ending totals for five years, according to the BBC report.