For their upcoming Challenge Cup match against the Newcastle Red Bulls, Perpignan is poised to see the return of one of its formidable assets, Posolo Tuilagi, who is coming back from an injury layoff.
This French lock, a substantial 6’4 and 149kg player in the second row, has been out of action since the end of November due to a left knee injury. However, he has now recovered and is scheduled to feature on the reserves list for the Pool stage encounter this Saturday at Kingston Park.
Tuilagi’s reinstatement into the squad is arriving at an opportune time for Perpignan, especially after the Catalan side climbed out of last place in the Top 14 standings last weekend, securing an encouraging 30–27 victory against Stade Toulousain.
With a critical relegation contest against Montauban looming later this month, the re-entry of the 21-year-old player is regarded as a pivotal progression.
Despite earning five caps for France, Tuilagi’s tenure over the last two seasons has been intermittent. An incident in September 2024, where he sustained a double fracture of his left tibia and fibula while playing against Clermont, kept him off the field for a period of seven months.
Subsequently, a stress fracture prevented him from participating just before the commencement of the ongoing Top 14 season. He experienced another injury setback in November, subsequent to the international matches played during the autumn period.
This consistent unavailability prompted public remarks from head coach Laurent Labit earlier in the season, who expressed concerns about the second row forward’s physical preparation.
In the year 2025, Tuilagi has participated in only ten matches up to this point.
The game on Saturday presents a chance to regain impetus within a tournament where Perpignan secured their inaugural victory of the season in December, prevailing over the Dragons.
Meanwhile, the Newcastle Red Bulls are focused on prolonging their undefeated streak in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Achieving a win would guarantee their advancement to the round of 16 with one match remaining in the pool stage, prior to their concluding group fixture against the Dragons RFC.
The starting lineup sees Tim Cardall and Seb de Chaves in the second row, with Oscar Usher moving to the blindside flank. Ethan Grayson steps in for the injured Brett Connon at fly-half, and Oli Spencer is deployed on the wing.
Head coach Alan Dickens remarked, “Securing our initial Gallagher PREM victory as the Newcastle Red Bulls was truly gratifying, and I felt immense satisfaction for the team. We have now triumphed in three of our last five encounters across all tournaments, including successes against Lyon and Lions in the Challenge Cup, and we earned a bonus point for four tries during an away fixture against a strong Bristol Bears squad in the league, suggesting a gradual cohesion is emerging.”
He continued, “Our attention has swiftly shifted to Perpignan for Saturday’s game, as the Challenge Cup represents a significant chance for us.”
“This offers an occasion to build upon our promising commencement to the tournament,” he added, “and with a home match against Perpignan followed by an away fixture at Dragons, we face two challenging encounters to really engage with.”
“Our aspiration is to participate in knockout stages of the competition, avoiding idle weekends late in the season, because, fundamentally, one engages in professional sports with the ambition of securing trophies.”
“Perpignan will pose a formidable challenge; they demonstrated strong resilience to overcome Toulouse last weekend, hence we anticipate a competitive clash. They possess a powerful forward unit and athletic players in their backline, so we will need to perform at our peak to achieve a favorable outcome.”
NEWCASTLE RED BULLS SQUAD: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Oli Spencer, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 1 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (capt), 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Tim Cardall, 5 Seb de Chaves, 6 Oscar Usher, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Tom Gordon.
SUBSTITUTES: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 James Elliott, 22 Cameron Hutchison, 23 Nathan Greenwood.
PERPIGNAN TEAM SHEET: 15 Lucas Dubois, 14 Jordan Petaia, 13 Job Poulet, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Maxim Granell, 10 Hugo Reus, 9 Tom Ecochard, 1 Bruce Devaux, 2 Victor Montgaillard, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 4 Peceli Yato, 5 Adrien Warion, 6 Bastien Chinarro, 7 Mahamadou Diaby, 8 Lucas Velarte.
RESERVES: 16 Mathys Lotrian, 17 Lorencio Boyer Gallardo, 18 Nemo Roelofse, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Mathieu Tanguy, 21 Andro Dvali, 22 Gela Aprasidze, 23 Gabin Kretchmann.
