A try from prop Ceri Jones in the ninth minute of stoppage time earned
Harlequins an unlikely five-point Zurich Premiership victory in a pulsating
clash at Kingston Park.
Dave Walder looked to have snatched a win for Newcastle when he took a leaf
out of Jonny Wilkinson's book to edge his side 25-22 ahead with a drop goal five
minutes into added time.
But the Londoners gained possession from the re-start and recycled the ball
before driving Jones over for their fourth try of the match, which earned them a
bonus point and put daylight between the two teams in the fight for a
Premiership play-off spot.
Quins will be relieved to complete the double and a hat-trick of away wins
over northern clubs while the match marked a disappointing start to the new year
for the Falcons, who lost only two Premiership home games throughout 2003 and
have now won just one of their last eight meetings with the Londoners.
Newcastle, superbly led by Hugh Vyvyan, will be kicking themselves for letting
a glorious opportunity slip away. They had the lion's share of possession and
created enough chances to have secured victory long before a nailbiting finish.
But they were guilty of sloppy finishing and Walder, deputising for injured
England fly-half Wilkinson, had an off day with the boot, missing four of his
seven kicks at goal.
Harlequins raced into a 12-3 lead on 19 minutes, demonstrating clinical
finishing by scoring tries with each of their first two attacking moves of the
match.
Fly-half Andy Dunne was quick to seize the initiative after Epi Taione was
turned over in midfield and left-winger Ugo Monye outpaced Tom May in a sprint
to the line to mark his return to the side with a try.
Dunne was also the architect of Gavin Duffy's 20th-minute try, slicing though
a hesitant Newcastle defence and sending the full-back over after juggling with
the ball.
Newcastle had pace to burn and ought to have made more of clear-cut breaks
from May and Michael Stephenson before full-back Joe Shaw broke from a scrum
deep inside his own half and sent centre Jamie Noone away for their first try.
A couple of Walder goals kept Newcastle in touch at 15-10 at half-time but
Monye's searing run set up the position for lock Jim Evans to go over for Quins'
third try four minutes into the second half.
Taione sparked Newcastle's fightback on the hour by finishing off a
well-rehearsed move from Walder's final pass and seven minutes later Stephenson
forced his way over from a quickly-taken tap penalty five metres out.
The home side then lost both wingmen through injury, leading tryscorer May
going off with a neck injury on the hour and Stephenson being taken off on a
stretcher after colliding with the replacements' bench seven minutes from the
end, but they finished the match in total command.
Walder looked to have secured victory with his late drop goal before
Harlequins, who would surely have been happy to settle for two points, came with
their last-gasp surge that brought them all five.
Teams:
Newcastle: J. Shaw, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Stephenson, Walder,
Charlton, Peel, Thompson, Ward, Grimes, Andrews, Taione,
Dowson, Vyvyan.
Replacements: Gollings for May (60), Godman for Stephenson (72).
Not Used: Hamilton, Grindal, Makin, Dunbar, Wilson.
Tries: Noon, Taione, Stephenson.
Cons: Walder 2.
Pens: Walder.
Drop Goals: Walder.
Harlequins: Duffy, Harder, Greenwood, Deane, Monye, Dunne,
Keogh, Jones, Fuga, Leonard, Davison, Evans, Sanderson, Vos,
Diprose.
Replacements: Jarvis for Dunne (68), Tiatia for Fuga (71),
Rudzki for Davison (62).
Not Used: Dawson, Gomez, Winters, Bemand.
Tries: Monye, Duffy, Evans, Jones.
Cons: Dunne 2, Jarvis.
Pens: Dunne.
Att: 7,975
Ref: Chris White (RFU).
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