|
 |
| 29 December 2003, 12:17 am |
| Just A Bonus Point From Chilly Newcastle |
|
|
|
|
|
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 23
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 19
Kingston Park
Sunday, December 28, 2003
The Saints travelled to the North East thiseekend expecting a cold reception from the sell-out crowd at Kingston Park. They did not however
foresee how cold the weather conditions were going to be, but with the decision left down to the players, the game went ahead on schedule.
The Newcastle camp had been lifted over the weekend with the news of the return of the king, World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson and it seemed that the rest of the Newcastle team were out to prove that there was more to their side than one player.
The hard surface favoured the open running game and both sides started throwing the ball wide early with good spells of possession.
Newcastle came close to the first score on the 14th minute mark with a strong run followed by a chip and chase from winger Tom May nearly resulting in a try for the home side. However referee Ashley Rowden did not give the try and awarded Saints the scrum. This was the first of his many vital decisions.
It was not until the 15th minute that the first points went to Newcastle from the trusty boot of Wilkinson putting the home side in the lead 3-0. A further penalty from Wilkinson on 18 minutes made it 6-0 to Newcastle.
And it was not until the 26th minute that Saints turned their pressure into points with a Shane Drahm penalty, followed closely by a Bruce Reihana penalty (standing in for Drahm who was receiving treatment), on 33 minutes to tie the game.
The scores did not remain level for long as Wilkinson stepped up to kick his final penalty of the day to make the scores 9-6 to Newcastle. The Saints struggled to convert their pressure into points and with Wilkinson controlling the game well with some nice kicking, the half ended 9-6.
The second half started as fast as the first had with Saints looking strong. Their pressure resulted in space being left out wide and the ball finding Saints captain John Leslie against a stretched Newcastle defence. He cut inside to
score just left of the uprights to give Saints the lead and Drahm an easy kick to extend the lead five minutes into the half.
With Saints leading, the last thing Newcastle wanted was an injury to their star player, but in the 13th minute of the half Wilkinson went down after a tackle on John Clarke damaging his shoulder and was helped from the field.
At the same time Saints' own World Cup hero Steve Thompson was being brought on for Dan Richmond to boost the Saints pack. This however did not have the effect Saints hoped as 10 minutes later Michael Stephenson chased down a kick and when, according to referee Rowden, Reihana failed to put downward pressure on the kick, Stephenson pounced to score his side's first try much to the protest of Reihana and the Northampton side. Walder converted to give Newcastle a three-point lead.
Saints looked to have recovered from this blow with a five-minute period of pressure on the Newcastle line only for a Nick Beal pass heading for Reihana and an overlap to be intercepted by Walder, who ran the 90 metres unopposed to
score under the posts. The conversion was good giving the home side a 23-13 lead.
Northampton were not finished though and with the introduction of Paul Grayson, Saints fought back with his two unanswered penalties to bring the
score to 23-19. However the Saints' strong finish was too late the final whistle was blown leaving Newcastle 23-19 winners.
Teams:
Northampton Saints - Beal; Reihana, Hyndman (Brooks 75mins), Leslie (capt), Clark; Drahm (Grayson 70mins), Robinson (Howard 66mins); Smith, Richmond (Thompson 53mins), Morris (Budgen 64mins), Hunter (Phillips 83mins), Connors, Blowers, Fox, Seely (Soden 51mins)
Newcastle Falcons - Shaw; May, Noon, Mayerhofler,
Stephenson; Wilkinson (Walder 53mins),Charlton; Peel, Thompson, Ward (Hurter 70mins), Grimes, Andrews, Taione, Dowson, Vyvyan (capt).
Scorers:
Northampton Saints - Try: Leslie; Con: Drahm; Pens: Drahm, Reihana, Grayson (2).
Newcastle - Tries: Stephenson, Walder; Cons: Walder (2); Pens: Wilkinson (3).
Attendance:
10,000 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
