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Newcastle sign Mason Flesch, Major League Rugby's 2026 forward of the season

The 26-year-old Canada international, who can play lock or back row, joins until the end of the season after the Red Bulls lost their first three Premiership games.

By RuckBee Newsroom1 min read
A muscular player in red kit walks away along a wet platform at Newcastle Central Station at night, carrying a black holdall.
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Newcastle Red Bulls have added a Major League Rugby title winner to their pack. Mason Flesch, the Canada international named the league's forward of the season for 2026, has joined the club on a deal that runs until the end of the season.

Flesch is 26 and can play at lock or in the back row. He has won 26 caps for Canada and arrived on Tyneside this week after a prolific season with the Chicago Hounds, for whom he scored 10 tries in 11 games. One of those came in the final, when the Hounds beat California Legion to take the Major League Rugby title.

Newcastle have lost each of their first three games in the Premiership this season, and their European Challenge Cup campaign started with a 47-14 defeat away to Scarlets on Saturday 17 October.

Dan McFarland praised what the new arrival has done in the American league and on the international stage. "Mason has been a stand-out performer in Major League Rugby and for his country, and deserves this opportunity," he said.

Flesch was just as keen. "I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this team," he said.

Born in Ontario, Flesch came through the ranks at the Toronto Arrows. He made his professional debut in 2021 and won his first Canada cap later that year.

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