The China Mail - Travelling man Wade equals Prem try record

Wade drew level with Ashton nine minutes into the second half at a blustery Kingston Park when, after good approach play, he sprinted in at the right corner.

The haul is a testament to Wade's enduring speed, elusive running and sheer endurance -- it is more than 15 years since he scored his first try in English rugby union's top flight for Wasps.

"In terms of what he brings on the field, he's got the dancing feet, he's got the speed and he's got a danger out there that has to be marked," Newcastle boss Dan McFarland told the BBC after Wade completed his century of tries with a hat-trick against Exeter earlier this month.

While the now-retired Ashton won 44 England caps, Wade, the only other man to have scored a century of Prem tries, has just one.

It is a meagre return for one of the outstanding finishers of his generation, even allowing for the fact that wing has been a highy competitive England position during the 35-year-old Wade's career.

Rugby prides itself on being a sport for all shapes and sizes but Wade, who is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres) tall, has played at a time when the English game has often prefered tall wings, even though the diminutive Cheslin Kolbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey have thrived for South Africa and France.

- 'Dominate the aerial battle' -

"For a guy who's not one of the new age of 6ft 3in (1.90 metre) wingers, he (Wade) can dominate the aerial battle, so he's done a really good job for us there," said McFarland.

Misperceptions about Wade's supposed weakness in defence also hampered his international career, which yielded a lone England cap against Argentina in 2013.

It was a source of frustration to Wade, who told the Daily Telegraph in a 2022 interview: "I rarely missed tackles, my high ball work was really good. Chris Ashton and other guys were missing way more tackles than me."

Wade scored the bulk of his tries during his seven-year spell at Wasps before leaving rugby union for American football in 2018.

He joined the Buffalo Bills in 2019 and scored a touchdown on his very first play in a pre-season game. But he did not break into the team's NFL roster and was released in April 2022.

Wade returned to rugby union with Paris-based Racing 92. He signed for southwest side Gloucester in 2024 before a brief stint in rugby league with Wigan.

He made a second return to union when he joined Newcastle in 2025.

While conscious of the significance of the record, Wade, in the final year of his Newcastle contract, is more concerned about success for his struggling side.

"Sometimes I feel the record is more important to other people than it is to me," he said ahead of Friday's match.

"I'm going to score tries. That's what I do and what I love doing. But it's a result of the team performing well, having cohesion, understanding how we want to play and executing it."

Wade added: "It's about the gift God has given me. I want to use it to its full potential and not waste the opportunity. That's what I'll be most proud of."

B.Carter--ThChM