England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson booted a 79th-minute conversion to lift
Newcastle off the foot of the Zurich Premiership table in a tense encounter at
Kingston Park on Sunday afternoon.
Northampton had led throughout after two first-half tries from Matt Dawson had
put them in the driving seat and Matt Lord's 47th-minute touchdown seemed to
have left the Falcons too much to do.
But this Newcastle side rarely know when they are beaten and so it proved once
again as they launched a desperate late assault which was concluded when number
eight Hugh Vyvyan crossed in the corner.
Wilkinson, who had kept his side in touch throughout with five penalties, made
no mistake with the touchline conversion to clinch a victory that gives
Newcastle a massive boost in their Premiership survival bid.
The Falcons sorely missed the influence of Mark Andrews - their pack appeared
lightweight without the Springbok great who has played a massive role in the
club's recent revival, adding some much needed beef up front.
The absence of injured back row Epi Taione also denied Rob Andrew's men a
cutting edge but with Wilkinson in such fine form with the boot they had enough
to overcome a Saints side which dominated long periods of the match.
The result means Northampton, who paraded their England quartet of Dawson, Ben
Cohen, Steve Thompson and Paul Grayson, now face a huge challenge if they are to
reach the Premiership play-offs.
Grayson and Wilkinson exchanged early penalties in a scrappy opening which was
marred by a series of errors from both teams, ensuring referee Steve Lander's
whistle was rarely out of use.
By the 10th minute Northampton had managed to build some momentum however as
they swept the ball left then right where Nick Beal almost broke clear until he
was tripped by Andrew Mower's last-ditch ankle-tap.
But the Saints had kept the ball alive, feeding a lurking Dawson who took full
advantage of Newcastle's over-stretched defence to scamper in at the corner.
Grayson missed the near-touchline conversion but Wilkinson was on-target
shortly after when winger Michael Stephenson had carved open Northampton's
rearguard, yielding a penalty which the Falcons skipper stroked over.
A bout of aerial ping-pong followed which the visitors won when Grayson
thumped a low kick into touch and they stole possession at the ensuing line-out
before probing down the right where Oriol Ripol was pushed into touch.
Northampton increased the pressure, improving their lead in the 20th minute
when some powerful forward play created an opening for Dawson, who crossed
unopposed from five metres out.
Saints' pack had been in full control up to this point but they found
themselves on the back foot near the half hour mark as Newcastle surged upfield
and almost broke through, eventually being denied by some desperate defence.
They appeared to have crossed shortly after when Jamie Noon touched down in
the corner but Lander had spotted an infringement during the movement and ruled
no-try, although he awarded a penalty which Wilkinson kicked to soften the
blow.
The England star was in the thick of the action a minute before the interval
as he surged upfield, making some 20 metres despite the attention of two Saints
players.
He eventually went to ground and Lander awarded a penalty as Northampton
strayed offside and Wilkinson gratefully accepted the three points.
Saints gave themselves some breathing space on the stoke of half time when
second-row Lord scooped up a loose ball and dived over, with Grayson adding the
extras.
Flanker Darren Fox was sin-binned seven minutes after the break and instead of
going for goal Wilkinson kicked for touch in the corner, but his ambition went
unrewarded as Newcastle knocked on after winning the line-out.
Northampton settled after the Falcons' early second-half onslaught as they
surged deep into opposition territory, crossing twice through Ben Cohen and
Peter Jorgensen but both players were held up over the line.
They were left to rue these missed opportunities however as Newcastle launched
a 78th minute attack which was rounded off when Vyvyan crossed in the right
corner after a sweeping move.
Wilkinson stepped up to take the high-pressure conversion and made no mistake,
nudging his kick between the uprights to seal the unlikeliest of victories as
the theme tune from the Great Escape played over the tannoy.
Teams:
Newcastle: Shaw, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Stephenson,
J. Wilkinson, Grindal, Peel, Makin, Hurter, Hamilton, Grimes,
Newby, Mower, Vyvyan.
Not Used: Botham, Walder, Charlton, Britz, Dunbar, Ward,
Thompson.
Tries: Vyvyan.
Cons: J. Wilkinson.
Pens: J. Wilkinson 5
Northampton: Beal, Ripol, Jorgensen, Tucker, Cohen, Grayson,
Dawson, Smith, Thompson, Morris, Lord, Connors, Fox, Pountney,
Blowers.
Not Used: Miles, Stewart, Hunter, Seely, Brooks, Reihana,
Howard.
Tries: Dawson 2, Lord.
Cons: Grayson.
Pens: Grayson
Att: 7,428
Ref: Steve Lander (England).
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