Christian Wade makes a bold Premiership try record prediction

Christian Wade has boldly suggested he can become the Premiership’s all-time record try scorer in his first season at Gloucester. The 33-year-old is poised for his first top-flight campaign since quitting Wasps in the early stages of the 2018/19 season for a shot at making American football’s NFL.

Having spent three years at the Buffalo Bills, Wade returned to rugby with Racing 92 in 2022 and after two seasons in Paris he has now come back to England where he claims he has unfinished business.

Winning the Premiership title with Gloucester is considered a very long shot, but catching the try record mark currently held by the retired Chris Ashton could be within his grasp. Ashton called it quits with 101 tries, with Wade in fifth place on 82 behind Tom Varndell (92), Mark Cueto (90) and Danny Care (85).

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Wade’s Gloucester boss George Skivington has backed his new signing to tear it up on his return to England and surpass Ashton’s record, telling RugbyPass: “There is no reason why not. He is obviously a bit older and whatnot but he is a brilliant pro.

“He works extremely hard, he looks after himself, he’s diligent, he’s learning the plays. It will be interesting to see how he fits back into the Premiership but I don’t see why he couldn’t achieve that.”

Wade himself has now stated that taking the record is a target, ambitiously adding that the 20-try campaign needed to put him out in front is not beyond the bounds of possibility in the upcoming 2024/25 season which Gloucester begin on September 21 with a home match at Kingsholm versus Saracens.

Speaking on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast, Wade said about the try record: “It’s in my sights and I obviously want to go for it. I’m not thinking about it now. Once I get closer then it’s like ‘I’ve one or two more to go’.

“For me it’s two seasons, but I could do it in one. People always ask me about the tries and I have never really focused on them too much. There were probably two years when I was playing with Tom Varndell, who was always like ‘tries, tries, tries’. And we were competing against each other. I just think you have to let it happen and if it happens, it happens.”

A 2017 final appearance with Wasps was the closest Wade has come to lifting the trophy and while Gloucester have never won the title, the winger has told his new teammates that success in a Twickenham final is his target.

“I stood up in front of the boys and [said] I’m coming back to the Premiership not for a jolly or to enjoy my last few years, I still haven’t won a Premiership title and that’s still my goal. There is such a young group of lads but I feel like they [Gloucester] haven’t had the belief in their potential all the time or whether it’s the consistency in their performances.

“But we have made a couple of signings this year, with Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, and for me I really want to push forward, top four, and push for some titles. I guess it’s unfinished business.”

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This week's Rugby Union Weekly features interviews from Ben Earl, Christian Wade, George Furbank and Marcus Smith!

Listen: https://t.co/lcE4UIe6D6 pic.twitter.com/W7mX8ADKBD

— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) September 10, 2024