Wade eyes league try-scoring record
Gloucester’s summer signing is ‘sure’ he will beat Ashton’s Premiership mark
CHRISTIAN Wade is confident that he has a shot at chasing down Chris Ashton as the Premiership’s record try-scorer despite having been out of the league for half-a-dozen years.
Remarkably, considering his time away from rugby attempting to break into American Football’s NFL and then returning to the 15-man game with Racing 92 in France, Wade, 33, still sits fifth on the alltime list of top try scorers in the Premiership on 82, 19 shy of Ashton.
Harlequins’ Danny Care and retired duo Mark Cueto and Tom Varndell sit between them, on 85, 90 and 92 tries respectively, but former Wasps star Wade only has eyes on Ashton’s haul of 101.
Discussing the record having joined Gloucester Rugby this summer, Wade said: “Scoring tries is what I do. I am not necessarily focussed on it (the record), but I am sure it will get to that point where I am sitting at number one. When I get a bit closer then we will revisit this conversation.
“The most I had in one year is 17, so it’s doable. I will have to score (against) fewer teams now, maybe every game, if I play every game then maybe, and if not we will have to wait until next season.”
The thought of the elusive Wade dicing up defences with his explosive footwork and speed will have Cherry & Whites fans excited ahead of the start of the 2024/25 season.
While Wade has an eye on the try-scoring record, he was clear it was only in the context of the team performing well, and he is confident that despite finishing second from bottom of the Premiership for the