‘Shaking up old order’ – Newcastle sign Sale’s Quirke

Newcastle Red Bulls have confirmed the signing of Sale Sharks scrum-half Raffi Quirke on a two-year deal for next season.

Sale announced on Tuesday that the 24-year-old would be leaving at the end of the campaign.

Quirke, who has won two caps for England, is the latest player to commit to Newcastle for 2026-27.

All Black Hoskins Sotutu, Exeter pair Josh Hodge and Rusi Tuima, Northampton forward duo Sam Graham and Elliot Millar-Mills and Argentina’s Franco Molina will all be arriving in the summer.

“I want to be part of that new story, and I look forward to bringing my energy and attacking mindset to a club that deserves to be shaking up the old rugby order for the fans in the north east.”

Both of Quirke’s two England caps to date came in 2021 but he was part of the squad for last year’s autumn internationals and was also at a January get-together earlier this month.

Newcastle were taken over by energy drink company Red Bull in the summer and have already started rebuilding their squad, with their arrivals for this season including Wales and British and Irish Lions full-back Liam Williams, former Wasps and Gloucester wing Christian Wade and Argentina scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz.

And, after a losing start to the campaign, their form has picked up in recent weeks, with the Red Bulls winning four of their past six games in all competitions.

The results have helped the club progress to the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup and they also claimed a first win in The Prem since 2024 when they beat Gloucester 25-19 in their first league match of the new year.