Newcastle Falcons star Adam Radwan admits he would love to play in the Olympics, as England’s most exciting winger could follow France star Antoine Dupont and others in taking part in sevens in Paris

‘Never a penalty!’ Adam Radwan barks, protesting against Paris Saint- Germain’s late equaliser against Newcastle United on Tuesday.

Sitting in a cafe beside the River Tyne, he explains how he has been caught up in the buzz of the football team’s return to the Champions League. ‘I saw Kieran Trippier in Marks & Spencer the other day, hood up,’ he says. ‘There’s so much energy in the city on a match day. It’s unbelievable.

‘In a short period they’ve gone from a team that were just surviving in the Premier league — not doing particularly well — to playing in Europe. We want to do the same with the rugby club.’

Radwan wants his own piece of the action, be it for Newcastle Falcons or England. Club and country have always been his priorities, although there is a new option on the table, next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, that we discuss at the end of the interview.

‘We’re not having a great season and when the football club’s going well, you want a bit of that,’ says Radwan, who starts today against Leicester Tigers.

Radwan is waiting for a chance for England at the Six Nations but could turn to Sevens if he is not picked

Radwan has followed the success of Newcastle United and wants the rugby side to follow suit

‘In my first season we finished in the top four. When you’re doing well, there’s that buzz in the crowd. Just look at St James’ Park every weekend.

‘We had a massive change last year. We’re a young team chasing our first Premiership win. We’ve created opportunities, but we’ve just lacked that knockout blow. We feel like we’ve let our fans down, so we want to get a win for them.’

Newcastle’s defeats have been sprinkled with Radwan magic. He is the most exciting English winger in the Premiership and the conversation turns to speed comparisons between rugby and football.

‘Your average footballer is faster than your average rugby player,’ says Radwan, who can clock 10.85 metres per second. ‘But I reckon the fastest rugby player should be faster than your fastest footballer. Rugby players are bigger and top sprinters are stocky and shredded. It’s about power output.’

Over the last two years, Radwan has been working at Newcastle with the Argentina wing Mateo Carreras and he watched his fellow speedster light up the World Cup with his spectacular running threat. Carreras scored three tries in six World Cup matches.

‘He’s more direct than me. He’ll take contact more because he’s got such a low centre of gravity (he is 5ft 9in and 12st 5lbs) that makes him hard to tackle.

‘I’ve tried to take on a little bit of that, getting stuck in if there’s nothing on. If it’s on to run from deep then we’ll run from deep.’

Radwan watched the World Cup at home in Newcastle, craving a piece of the action. He scored four tries in his two Tests under previous coach Eddie Jones, but is still waiting for a proper opportunity with the national team.

Radwan was last called up in June 2021 when Eddie Jones was in charge of the England setup

He has been a prolific scorer at club level and combines speed with raw pace and power

‘My goal is to get back in the England squad. I spoke to Steve Borthwick and I know what I need to work on,’ he says.

‘I’m a massive England fan. Watching the World Cup you think, “Wow, I want a piece of that”. Ultimately, you get there by playing well for your club.’

If Radwan is not picked by England there is another option on the table. He recently spoke to Tony Roques, the man in charge of Team GB Sevens for France 2024, and the Olympic Games is now a real possibility.

‘My number one goal is to make the Six Nations squad, but there have been a couple of conversations with the Sevens guys.

‘It’s whether you can work it into the schedule with Newcastle and my goal to play for England XVs. If it’s possible to make it work then I would definitely give it a go. ‘I mentioned it to Newcastle and they haven’t said no!’. 

Should he miss out on the Six Nations, there could be a window to play in the Los Angeles and Vancouver Sevens tournaments during the Premiership’s down weeks.

It would be a sensational twist in his journey, following the likes of Antoine Dupont and Michael Hooper to the short-code.

‘It would improve my defence, marking players with fast feet in big spaces. I’d have to earn a spot and play a couple of tournaments before. We’re not through to the next round of the Prem Cup, so there will be a couple of free weekends. We’ll have to see.

‘It’s right up there with the biggest sporting events in the world, so it would be an honour to be part of something like that.’

For Radwan, that big game buzz may be just around the corner.

Tony Roques, the man in charge of Team GB Sevens for France 2024, has been speaking with Radwan