Newcastle fly-half Dave Walder helped his side grind out a no-thrills victory
over Leeds in a dour contest at a rain-swept Kingston Park.
Walder, deputising for Jonny Wilkinson who was on international duty with
England on Saturday, finished the match with a nine-point haul, adding to tries
from Stuart Grimes and Michael Stephenson.
The Falcons turned in a dour performance before the break but upped the tempo
in the second half as they stamped their authority on proceedings.
Leeds did not deserve to be trailing 8-0 at half-time - their forwards were in
control up-front, they often threatened to cut loose and they nearly breached
the Newcastle line on a couple of occasions.
But they were comprehensively out-fought after the interval as the Falcons'
greater penetration behind the scrum began to tell and they could only manage a
solitory Eddie Jones touchdown in reply.
Neither side could claim the upper hand in the opening exchanges of an
error-strewn first 10 minutes in which both teams opted for a kicking game.
Leeds won the battle of the boot when they pinned back the Falcons deep inside
their own territory and, after putting the home side under tremendous pressure
at the scrum, they were awarded a penalty which Australian fly-half Dan Parks
pushed wide of the upright.
The Tykes had a clear advantage up-front, often snatching their opponents'
ball, but suffered from a lack of punch in the back-line ensuring their efforts
amounted to nothing.
But by the 20th minute they had settled and some quick hands sent Shaun Woof
and Chris Hall charging downfield, but both moves were snuffed out by the
Falcons cover.
It was Newcastle who finally broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when
scrum-half Hall Charlton scooped up the ball and ran crossfield, offloading to
second row Grimes who slid over.
Leeds strung together a promising passage of play seven minutes later when
some good work from the forwards presented Parks with time and space to fire a
dangerous kick to the opposite wing.
Winger Hall raced ahead as the ball bounced close to the Falcons' try-line but
he knocked on when he reached it and Newcastle were let off the hook.
The home side launched an attack of their own in the dying moments of the
first half only for winger-turned-flanker Epeli Taione to spill the ball forward
inches short of the line.
But Newcastle did finish the half on a scoring note when Walder nudged over a
long-range penalty - atoning for his missed conversion earlier in the game.
Whatever Newcastle director of rugby Rob Andrew said to his players during the
interval had the desired effect as his side came out firing on all cylinders.
Walder and Parks swapped penalties before some slick handling from the Falcons
threequarters released winger Stephenson down the right wing.
He chipped ahead but did not have the legs to reach the ball which skidded out
of the dead ball area.
But Walder mainatined his side's momentum with a towering drop-goal which
sailed between the posts, extending Newcastle's lead to 14-3.
Leeds added to their woes when prop Gavin Kerr was sinbinned for a
professional foul, though the Tykes must have been grateful that Walder had
suddenly lost his touch with the boot with the England international missing
three quickfire prenalties.
But Stephenson kept the scoreboard ticking over when he swept through the
visitors' defence for a well-worked try in the 69th minute.
Leeds bagged a late touchdown through substitute Jones but it was far too late
to stage a comeback.
Newcastle:
D. Richardson, Stephenson, Noon, May, Botham,
Walder, Charlton, Ward, Makin, Hurter, Grimes, Weir, Taione,
Arnold, Lam.
Replacements: Tuigamala for Noon (62), Graham for Ward (65),
Balshen for Makin (80), Mower for Arnold (56).
Not Used: S. Richardson, Peel, Vyvyan.
Tries: Grimes, Stephenson.
Pens: Walder 2.
Drop Goals: Walder.
Leeds:
Benson, Hall, Woof, Davies, Scarborough, Parks,
Benton,
Shelley, Holt, Kerr, C. Murphy, P. Murphy, Mather, Ponton, Hogg.
Replacements: Mackay for Woof (49), Rawlinson for Holt (56),
Jones for C. Murphy (56), Wring for Ponton (63).
Not Used: Clarke, O'Reilly, Bartolucci.
Tries: Jones.
Pens: Parks.
Sin Bin: Kerr (58).
Att: 4,248
Ref: Robert G Davies (RFU).
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