Newcastle Red Bulls vs USA Perpignan Prediction & Betting Tips - Challenge Cup

Prediction published on 08/01/2026, 08:00  by Ita Emmanuel | Modified on 10/01/2026 at 13:19 in Challenge Cup Predictions

Kingston Park will be lit on Saturday as Newcastle Red Bulls return to Challenge Cup action, playing host to French side USA Perpignan. Can the Newcastle-based outfit maintain their perfect start to the competition with a win against USA Perpignan? Here is our prediction.

Newcastle Red Bulls stunned naysayers, both winning halves to secure a shock 23–14 away victory over Lyon in their Challenge Cup opener. Late tries from Tom Christie and Oli Spencer sealed the dramatic victory for the Premiership side in Lyon.

Their second fixture also ended in victory, as they outscored URC club Lions by seven unanswered points in the second half, rallying from a three-point first-half deficit to win 14–10. Notably, the Newcastle club finally snapped their four-match domestic losing run last week by defeating Gloucester 25–19 in the Premiership. 

USA Perpignan ended an 11-match Top 14 losing streak with a 41–17 victory over URC side Dragons in their 2025–26 Challenge Cup opener. They fell 44–31 to Benetton in their second fixture, losing both halves. 

Laurent Labit's team head into this match on the back of morale-boosting 30–27 league win over Top 14 champions Stade Toulousain. However, they lost their previous encounter 32–23 to Newcastle Red Bulls and have suffered defeat in their eight away matches this season across all competitions, most of which by double digits.