| Newcastle (3) 18 |
| Tries: Radwan, Obonna Cons: Connon Pens: Connon 2 |
| Northampton (3) 10 |
| Tries: Hill Cons: Grayson Pens: Grayson |
Newcastle recorded a second consecutive Premiership victory to all but end Northampton’s hopes of a play-off spot.
Both clubs played in front of fans for the first time in 14 months as Saints defended well in a scrappy first half.
Paul Hill’s try, from James Grayson’s great offload, gave the visitors a 10-3 advantage against the run of play.
But Newcastle eventually got reward for their control, Adam Radwan diving over in the corner before Chidera Obonna’s first Falcons try secured the win.
Dean Richards’ Falcons move up a place to 10th after impressing in front of the permitted 1,750 supporters at Kingston Park, while Northampton, in fifth, are 11 points behind fourth-placed Harlequins with only three games left.
The home side played almost all of the opening 20 minutes in their opponents’ 22 but with no points to show for it as Saints’ Tom James and Newcastle’s Callum Chick were both sin-binned for deliberate knock-ons.
Errors and indiscipline were staples of Northampton’s first-half display, although they went in level thanks to several big tackles as Grayson and Brett Connon traded penalties.
Hill’s try after the break was only his second in 140 appearances for Chris Boyd’s side, who looked capable of pulling off a smash and grab away triumph.
However, Radwan scored after they failed to gather a poor Falcons line-out and Obonna added a second try when a Saints scrum was stolen by the hosts.
A simple Connon penalty late on gave Newcastle a two-score lead and ended Saints’ three-match winning run away from home.
Falcons flanker Will Welch told BBC Radio Newcastle:
“We had a lot of field position and opportunities but we just couldn’t convert them. We spoke about it at half-time and we came out and were a lot better with the ball in the second half.
“We knew the pressure that we’d put on them would pay dividends in the second half – we made them defend a lot and make a lot of tackles.
On making his 250th Newcastle appearance: “It’s taken its toll on the body at times but I’m feeling good and will hopefully get a fair few more under my belt.”
Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd told BBC Radio Northampton:
“Our race is run for this year, we’re not going to recover now for our ambition to make the top four.
“We needed to win the games against Gloucester and Newcastle to set ourselves up and we’ve left too big a gap now, and that’s massively disappointing.
“We played the wrong game in the wrong parts of the field, we gave up too many penalties which gave them territory and possession of the ball.”
Newcastle: Penny; Radwan, Orlando, Burrell, Wacokecoke; Connon, Schreuder; Brocklebank, McGuigan, Davison, Peterson, Robinson, Welch, Wilson, Chick.
Replacements: Blamire, Cooper, Tampin, van der Walt, Fearns, Stuart, Hodgson, Obonna.
Northampton: Furbank; Sleightholme, Proctor, Hutchinson, Freeman; Grayson, James; Waller, Matavesi, Hill, Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa, Wood, Ludlam, Harrison.
Replacements: Haywood, Auterac, Painter, Coles, Adendorff, Taylor, Dingwall, Collins.
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU).
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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