Newcastle Red Bulls: What impact could club’s new owners have on English rugby?

Red Bull will be able to call upon their expertise in other sports and as a well marketed brand at Newcastle, but it was a surprise to many when they were first linked with the ailing club.

One of those was Rob Wilson, a professor in Applied Sport Finance at UCFB, who thinks the Austrian company is dipping its toe into a market that is undervalued.

“If I was sat in a private equity house, I would be thinking that rugby was undervalued and I am pretty sure that there would be big, significant gains to be made,” he said.

“Red Bull have bowled in at Newcastle and said ‘we’ll have a go’. If the early signs are positive, you’ll see other companies try and get involved elsewhere. If not, they may hold off.

“But Red Bull have first-move advantage so if they win, they stand to win big.

“If they can’t win, we’ll see a reticence of people to move into the market because they’ll think it’s too immature for them to move into.”

With the league wanting to expand back up from 10 to 12 teams, Newcastle’s place looks secure and gives time for on-field improvements and marquee signings to be made ahead of the 2026-27 season.

But all the while, others will be closely watching how Red Bull get on and whether they can crack the 15-player game.

“We’ve had the best part of a decade of financial challenges, whether that’s Saracens overspending and breaking regulations, Wasps, Worcester and London Irish going into administration, it needs that reset,” Wilson added.

“Red Bull feels like the acid test. If it works, then we’re in a new era for rugby union, 30 years on from when it turned professional originally.”