Bates happy to put problems to one side
Newcastle Falcons 28 Leicester Tigers 25
NEWCASTLE'S acting director
of rugby Steve Bates declared
himself very, very proud'' of his
Guinness Premiership team after
they ended a poor run.
A depressing run of seven
straight defeats in the league,
plus a crushing defeat in the
semi-final of the European Challenge
Cup, finished with yesterday's
28-25 success over Leicester.
That it arrived a day after it
was announced that Mathew
Bates and Toby Flood were leaving
Kingston Park, victory
brought some much-needed relief.
And Bates said: I'm very, very
proud of the team.
We saw evidence today of the
type of rugby we have been trying
to play for some time, it was
a big win for us.''
Newcastle put their recent
woes behind them with the perfect
start of a penalty and an
Andy Long try in just four minutes,
with Jonny Wilkinson's
boot stretching the lead to 10-0.
Thereafter, however, it was
hammer-and-tong and end-toend,
right to the finish when
Leicester could have snatched
victory.
By half-time Jordan Crane had
gone over from a lineout in typical
Leicester style and then Tom
Varndell made it 13-12 with a try
near the flag - but it was a Newcastle
blitz that brought up the
interval.
Two of their forwards had been
held up on the line before the
Leicester pack twice went on the
retreat at five-metre scrums, and
their defence was nowhere to be
seen when Falcons skipper Phil
Dowson strolled in.
Leicester coach Marcelo Loffreda
agreed that his side had underperformed
in the opening period.
But he added: They knew they
had to play with more urgency
and came back strongly in the
last quarter.''
With 15 minutes remaining
Leicester had been 13 points
adrift but found instant success
when Sam Vestey came on as replacement
for the injured Andy
Goode.
The fly-half put over a penalty
and then converted the score he
had created for Varndell's second,
and in the dying seconds a
decision was taken not to kick a
penalty which could have
squared the game.
This defeat for Leicester now
gives them little hope of achieving
a top four finish but Loffreda
remains optimistic.
He continued: Mathematically
we still have a chance - but realistically
our main aim now is to
qualify for Europe again next
season.''
Despite Newcastle being in disarray
off the field at the moment,
Bates was also upbeat about the
future.
He added: I'm comfortable
with the way we are playing.
I am confident we are going in
the right direction.''
Newcastle were quickly into
their stride from the kick-off,
turning over Leicester ball in
their 22 and kicking a firstminute
penalty through Wilkinson
when the visitors infringed.
Leicester were then pushed
back from the restart and after a
barnstorming run by John Rudd
down the left, Falcons lock Andy
Perry was held up on the line.
From the second phase however
hooker Andy Long dived over
for the try to which Wilkinson
added the points to make it 10-0.
This time Leicester were quick
to respond and, when Andy
Goode struck a penalty to the corner,
No 8 Jordan Crane was driven
over from the line-out, with
Goode converting from wide out.
Wilkinson kept the Newcastle
scoreboard ticking over with a
15th-minute penalty following a
ruck offence but his opposite
number Goode was well wide
with a similar effort soon after.
A dangerous tackle by Marco
Wentzel on Tom May saw the
Leicester lock yellow-carded but
this time Wilkinson was off target
with his penalty attempt.
When Goode burst clear from
halfway to feed Alesana Tuilagi
a Leicester score seemed certain
until Tait hauled him down just
short. Leicester retained possession
however and moved it quickly
to the left where Tom Varndell
crashed over.
With the interval approaching
it was all Newcastle following a
James Grindal break in midfield.
Ross Beattie and then Geoff Parling
were held up on the line but
finally, from a five-metre scrum,
Leicester were pushed back and
Falcons No 8 Parling went
through for the try, converted by
Wilkinson to make it 20-12 at halftime.
Goode was off target with a
simple penalty attempt just after
the restart but made no mistake
when Newcastle infringed again
right in front of their posts.
In the 53rd minute Newcastle
ran in a third try from another
superb break by Grindal. The flyhalf
beat two defenders at speed
before releasing May who
stormed in from 30 metres to give
the Falcons a 10-points advantage.
Another Wilkinson penalty
stretched that lead a little further
but when Grindal was yellowcarded
for preventing release,
Sam Vesty the replacement
Leicester fly-half pulled back the
three points.
Vesty continued to be prominent
and it was his next break
from a scrum in the home 22 that
produced a second try for Varndell
under the posts, and Vesty
then reduced the Leicester deficit
to just three points with the conversion.
With time running out for
Leicester they elected not to kick
a penalty that could have
squared the game and failed to
secure a try from some concerted
pressure on the Newcastle line
in the dying seconds.
9:12am Monday 5th May 2008
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