Newcastle lost their unbeaten home record in an error-strewn Zurich
Premiership match at Kingston Park on Sunday.
The Falcons already trailed 14-13 at half-time, and it was no more than they
deserved after presenting two tries to Northampton with a catalogue of missed
tackles.
Another two tries in the second half gave Northampton a welcome five points,
and Newcastle simply could not hang on to the ball for any length of time to
trouble the Saints.
It was a poor advert for Premiership rugby, and many of the 5,084 crowd left
long before the end.
It was 20 minutes before either side put together a worthwhile move. David
Walder kicked an 18th-minute penalty for the hots, but it was a chip ahead from
Saints' John Leslie against his former club which led to the opening try for
England wing Ben Cohen.
The Newcastle pack found themselves under pressure at their own five-metre
scrum and lost the feed. From the re-scrum Cohen shot through some weak tackling
to score, and Paul Grayson converted.
Within a minute Newcastle bounced back with a try from Tom May, who chipped
ahead and collected to score a try converted by Walder.
A run through the middle in the 36th minute by number eight Rob Hunter saw yet
more missed tackles from the Falcons, and Dom Malone put the ball wide for James
Brooks to score in the corner. Grayson converted before Walder's second penalty
just on half-time.
More woeful tackling let in Cohen for his second try in the corner early in
the second half, and Grayson converted.
Newcastle's misery was completed when Mark Tucker broke through from a
well-constructed passing move in the 64th minute, and Grayson's fourth
conversion completed the scoring.
Teams:
Newcastle: Stephenson, Botham, Noon,
May, MacLure, Walder,
Charlton, Ward, Makin, Hurter, Vyvyan, Grimes, Taione, Mower,
Dunbar.
Replacements: Armstrong for Charlton (63), Peel for Ward (60),
Graham for Hurter (50).
Not Used: D. Richardson, Balshen, Lam, Weir.
Tries: May.
Cons: Walder.
Pens: Walder 2.
Northampton: Grayson, Beal,
Jorgensen, Leslie, Cohen, Brooks,
Malone, Smith, Thompson, Stewart, Phillips, Brouzet, Rennick,
Blowers, Hunter.
Replacements: Tucker for Jorgensen (64),
Newman for Phillips (69).
Not Used: Richmond, Budgen, Hepher, Howard, Shaw.
Tries: Cohen 2, Brooks, Tucker.
Cons: Grayson 4.
Att: 5,084
Ref: Nigel Yates (RFU).
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