Newcastle Red Bulls’ new era gathers speed as All Blacks snub named club captain

Newcastle Red Bulls have named Tom Christie as their new club captain for the 2026/27 season, as their new era continues to gather speed.

The change in captaincy is the latest sign of change at Kingston Park, and follows the addition of 23 new players for the upcoming campaign.

Christie, who was the first statement-of-intent signing in the Red Bull era, was a stalwart for Newcastle in his maiden season, notching 19 appearances for the club. In that time, he also scored six tries.

Newcastle Red Bulls name Tom Christie as new club captain

Alongside his strong debut season for the Red Bulls, Christie is arguably one of the most experienced players in the current squad, with 72 appearances for the Crusaders, where he won three Super Rugby titles, and 56 for Canterbury in the NPC. He has also featured for the All Blacks XV.

Captaincy is nothing new for the back-rower, either, after leading Canterbury to the NPC title last year before arriving in the North East.

Commenting on his appointment as club captain, Christie said: “It’s a huge honour. It’s an exciting time for the club with everything that’s going on and being planned for the future, so to be asked to lead the team is really special.

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“We want to entertain and to keep our fans engaged, and everything we’re doing behind the scenes is around playing fast, high-energy rugby.

“I’m fully bought into that, and the support we receive from our fans is incredible. They’ve turned up for us throughout some pretty tough years, and we’re working incredibly hard to reward the faith that has been put in us.”

“Captaining Canterbury was a really cool experience and something I enjoyed immensely, but I was lucky enough to have a lot of exceptional leaders in that group.”

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The 28-year-old also detailed he will look to draw on the experiences he had working alongside All Blacks legends in his new position at the Red Bulls.

“A big part of being a leader is just playing good rugby and trying to set an example, and if I can manage to do that with the input and support of the guys throughout the team then we’re not in a bad place.

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“In previous squads I’ve had leaders like Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and even Kieran Read during my early days. They’re just amazing people who you can learn a lot from, they were really influential on the younger players within the group and ultimately it was all about the standards they set.

“They would turn up every single day looking to get one per cent better, and the cumulative effect of that is something which has always stuck with me.”

Newcastle head coach, Dan McFarland, added: “Tom is an outstanding professional with natural leadership qualities.

“He has experience of being a successful captain from his time in New Zealand and brings a lot to the role, but he will be the first to tell you it doesn’t all revolve around one person.

“We have a strong leadership group within our squad who will all contribute and support Tom during what is a really exciting period for the club.”

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