Despite a narrow defeat to Premiership leaders Northampton Saints, Newcastle Red Bulls head coach Stephen Jones expressed confidence that his team is “moving in the right direction.” The team scored an impressive four tries in the closely contested 28-27 loss, leaving Jones “wonderfully proud” of their effort.
Wing Harrison Obatoyinbo particularly shone in the match, delivering an electric performance with the ball in hand. He topped the division’s charts for metres made (170) and line breaks (six) across the weekend’s action, highlighting his significant impact.
Ahead of his first home game in charge against Exeter Chiefs this Friday (19:45 GMT), Jones maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook. Although the Red Bulls are currently at the bottom of the Premiership standings, Jones emphasized the ongoing effort to improve. “There’s lots of areas that we’re pushing forward, we’re going in the right direction,” he stated, “but we’re conscious that we have to keep working hard to upskill ourselves. The most important thing for us is that we improve and push our standards forward, and that’s what we’re concentrating on.”
While Newcastle has secured only one win in 11 Premiership matches this season, and Jones has previously indicated he will not remain head coach beyond the current campaign, he has actively shaped the club’s recruitment strategy. This week saw the welcome addition of new signings Samson Adejimi and Ben Healy, as the former Wales fly-half continues to instill his vision into the first team.
“What’s important is we have an attacking philosophy, an attacking style, but we have to evolve that,” Jones explained. “There will be evolution; we will continually challenge ourselves to grow our game, but we have a clear vision of how we want to play the game.” He stressed the foundational importance of effort: “First of all, you have to work hard on the pitch, and that is the bottom line. If you work hard, and have clarity in your game, then people can move to correct positions quickly, and also you have accountability then.”
Jones concluded by praising his squad’s dedication and commitment. “Ultimately, it comes down to the playing group – and their ability to transfer their individual skills into the system,” he noted. “The playing group I’m working with are very, very good. They’re happy to push and drive forward standards.”
