A dull match came alive in the second half as Newcastle recorded only their
second Zurich Premiership win of the season.
Mistakes hampered an instantly forgettable opening 40 minutes as both teams
struggled to find any continuity, but two fine tries lit up the game after the
interval.
Scotland second row Stuart Grimes - who had an outstanding afternoon - touched
down for the Falcons in the 51st minute after some excellent work from Jonny
Wilkinson and Jamie Noon.
But Leeds replied shortly after with an equally impressive score when a
searing run from Diego Albanese set up Dan Scarbrough.
Newcastle had moved up several gears in the second half with England star
Jonny Wilkinson marshalling his team expertly at fly-half and his invention
proved to be the difference between the teams.
Former Springbok Braam van Straaten kicked a late penalty to earn the Tykes a
bonus point but director of rugby Phil Davies will not be pleased by a sloppy
display from his side.
Leeds had the better of a scrappy opening spell but they were being hindered
by a series of mistakes, conceding three penalties in the opening 10 minutes.
Two of these were some three metres inside the Falcons' half with Jonny
Wilkinson opting to kick for goal, but he was off-target with both efforts.
There was little free-flowing rugby on show as errors continued to take their
toll, with Newcastle also weighing in with some sloppy handling.
Jonny Wilkinson landed a 15th-minute penalty to edge his side ahead but the
Tykes still had the upper hand and threatened to cut loose on several
occasions.
The usually reliable van Straaten also missed a couple of long-range
penalties, squandering the chances given to him by referee David Pearson.
Leeds were caught napping in the 23rd minute when Hall Charlton broke from the
back of a ruck and took full advantage of an absent Tykes defence to sprint home
from 25 metres.
Full-back Scarbrough did his best to get across but the England prospect could
not make up the ground. Jonny Wilkinson slotted the simple conversion.
Leeds were still threatening and finally scored the try which had been coming
all half when Scottish fly-half Gordon Ross put in a crossfield bomb which
winger George Harder caught before crossing for a simple run-in.
Van Straaten added the extras, cutting the Falcons' lead to 10-7 going into
the break.
Gordon Ross appeared to have drawn his side level moments after the interval
with a drop-goal which looked to have sailed between the uprights but referee
Pearson, who was perfectly positioned, thought otherwise.
Van Straaten was not to be denied in the 45th minute though, booting an easy
three points.
Newcastle replied with a brilliant try, Jonny Wilkinson and Noon interchanging
neatly before Wilkinson provided Grimes with the scoring pass.
Wilkinson converted but Leeds were level again in the 57th minute, Scarbrough
crossing after some good work from winger Albanese with van Straaten kicking the
extras.
Wilkinson added another penalty before setting up a try for Noon, which he
also converted. Van Straaten then clinched the bonus point in 81st minute,
ensuring the Tykes did not go home empty handed.
Newcastle:
Tries: Charlton, Grimes, Noon.
Cons: J. Wilkinson 3.
Pens: J. Wilkinson 2.
Newcastle: M. Wilkinson, Botham, Noon, J. Wilkinson, Shaw, May,
Charlton, Peel, Brotherstone, Ward, Hamilton, Grimes, Dunbar,
Devonshire, Arnold.
Not Used: Grindal, Hurter, Godman, Otuvaka, Dowson, Springgay,
Thompson.
Leeds:
Tries: Harder, Scarborough.
Cons: van Straaten 2.
Pens: van Straaten 2.
Leeds: Scarborough, Harder, Davies, van Straaten, Albanese,
Ross, Hegarty, Shelley, Regan, Kerr, C. Murphy, Palmer, Mather,
Hyde, Fea'unati.
Not Used: Holt, Rawlinson, Campbell, Hogg, Dickens, Hall,
Emmerson.
Att: 5,300
Ref: David Pearson (RFU).
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