Werner Kok on Christian Wade's record chase: 'Both teams will hunt him down'

Christian Wade stands one try away from becoming the Premiership’s all-time leading scorer, and his Newcastle Red Bulls teammates are making sure he earns every step of it. Wade drew level with Chris Ashton’s record of 101 tries during Newcastle’s 17-3 win over Sale, setting up a landmark moment at Saracens before the league pauses for the November internationals.

Werner Kok, the former World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year who operates on the opposite wing for the Red Bulls, has been at the centre of the dressing-room banter. “We are actually giving Christian a bit of grief and have told him he is going to have to work for this try to beat the record,” Kok said. “Even if he makes an intercept, both teams are going to hunt him down!”

Beneath the ribbing, Kok’s admiration for Wade is genuine. “He deserves it having gone away from the Prem for four years, coming back and doing this in eight seasons of league rugby which is so impressive,” he said. “He is so physical and is the ultimate professional in the way he looks after himself and shows that age is just a number. He still competes with the younger players at 35 and is one of those guys who could go on and play until he is 40.”

Wade, 35, famously stepped away from rugby to pursue a career in American Football before returning to the Premiership, making his record-equalling tally all the more remarkable.

Kok himself brings an equally colourful backstory to Kingston Park. The 33-year-old South African, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with the Springbok Sevens side, once beat Top Gear presenter James May in a footrace against a Nissan GT-R — a car capable of 0-60 mph in 2.7 seconds — during a 100-metre shuttle run at an indoor arena in South Africa in 2015.

“The problem for James was that the Nissan was tough to get into reverse gear,” Kok recalled. “I got him on the turn. I did six shows and beat him every time over the three days.”

Kok arrived at Newcastle this season on a one-year deal from Ulster, having previously played for Stormers, Toulouse, and the Sharks in Durban. He is part of a large wave of new signings funded by Red Bull’s investment in the club, which aims to transform a side that spent years at the foot of the Premiership into genuine title contenders.