Newcastle Red Bulls began their new era in style, recording a bonus-point victory in front of 9,089 supporters on an electric evening at Kingston Park.

The home side led 14-7 at the break, with the wall of black absorbing waves of early pressure, roared on by an all-time highest home PREM Rugby Cup crowd.

Newcastle grew into the game and were by far the more dominant of the two packs when the first score of the night arrived on 15 minutes, home captain George McGuigan steering over a driving maul in the left corner for a piece of rugby history.

The first ever Red Bulls’ try was converted by Brett Connon, and it was almost followed by a second in a matter of minutes when replacement Nathan Greenwood had a spectacular dive at the left corner ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass in the build-up.

The home side produced a crucial turnover inside their own 22 just before the half-hour as Harlequins turned to their pick-and-go game, but the visitors were level on 36 minutes when centre Bryn Bradley hit a crash-ball line from close range.

Jamie Benson’s conversion tied the teams up at 7-7 but there was still time for the Red Bulls to snatch a 14-7 half-time lead when prop Murray McCallum ploughed over from a pick-and-go down the right-hand side, converted by Connon.

The Red Bulls began the brighter as the rain teemed down after the break, and they extended their advantage on 53 minuets when Oli Spencer pounced on a loose ball in the in-goal after a well-weighted grubber in behind the defensive line.

Connon curled a sublime conversion between the posts from the right touchline, and his side almost had the four-try bonus point on the hour mark when Clark’s kick to the left corner eluded Greenwood by millimetres.

They did not have long to wait, however, with Alex Hearle’s supporting line down the right rewarded with a try as he collected an inside pass from Spencer’s line-break.

The hosts played the last ten minutes with 14 men following Callum Hancock’s sin-binning for a high tackle, but it couldn’t knock the wind out of their sails on a momentous night on and off the field.

Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Alex Hearle, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Max Clark, 11 Joel Grayson (Nathan Greenwood, 21), 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart (James Elliott, 63); 1 Murray McCallum (Micky Rewcastle, 68), 2 George McGuigan (captain, Ollie Fletcher, 61), 3 Luan de Bruin (Callum Hancock, 68), 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson (Seb de Chaves, 64), 6 Cameron Neild, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Amanaki Mafi (Freddie Lockwood, 50).

Scorers – Tries: George McGuigan, Murray McCallum, Oli Spencer, Alex Hearle. Conversions: Brett Connon 3.

Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cassius Cleaves, 13 Bryn Bradley, 12 Sean Kerr, 11 Cameron Anderson, 10 Jamie Benson, 9 Max Green; 1 Jordan Els, 2 Jack Walker, 3 Cameron Doak, 4 Jonny Green, 5 Stephan Lewies (captain), 6 Zach Carr, 7 Tom Lawday, 8 Lucas Schmid.

Scorers – Tries: Bryn Bradley, Sam Riley. Conversions: Jamie Benson 2.

Referee: George Selwood. Attendance: 9,089.