Premiership Review - London Welsh 3 - 23 Newcastle Falcons

The term “8 pointer” (the rugby equivalent of football’s 6 pointer) is banded around too often these days – by people like me, usually, who try to create a bit of hyperbole to generate interest in an otherwise fairly standard encounter.  But I stand by the assertion I made prior to London Welsh taking on Newcastle Falcons at the Kassam Stadium – even at such an early stage of the season, all the signs are that this will prove to be a decisive result.

The fortunes (or misfortunes) of both these sides have been well documented – the Exiles did superbly well to turn over Bristol in the Championship playoffs last year to bounce back to the big time at the first attempt, but after conceding almost 250 points in their first 6 games, it’s quickly become clear that this is going to be a very nasty 9 months indeed.  For the Falcons, however, their nightmare may not have hit so hard but it’s certainly lasted much longer – losing 21 games on the bounce, and only saved from the drop last year by an inept Worcester side.  Until last week – when they turned over Exeter – they had become experts in missing opportunities to get something out of games.

Three weeks ago, Juan Pablo Socino was being maligned for his inaccuracy off the tee, arguably costing his side a crucial win at home against London Irish, but it is perhaps a measure of how much their first victory over Exeter has done that the fly half was able to spank over a superbly struck penalty from the touchline after only 2 minutes. 

The hosts had looked leaky in defence all season, but in attack they had occasionally strung together some decent stuff – with a try bonus point a decent return against Bath at the Rec.  But the early signs were ominous for the men in red – despite picking up some decent territory, they were generally moving from side to side without picking up too many metres or making any inroads, but they did score three points through the boot of Olly Barkley after prop Kieran Brookes was pinged for not rolling away quickly enough.

The Falcons, on the other hand, looked like they were playing with far more invention and purpose with the ball in hand and they were rewarded with the game’s first try after 14 minutes.  Dom Barrow took a flat pass from Socino and juggled it, with the loose ball momentarily distracting the Welsh defenders, allowing the big lock to offload to Mark Wilson, who in turn dropped the ball off to the onrushing Adam Powell, the experienced centre diving over for only his second Premiership try in 5 years.  Socino missed a relatively straightforward conversion, but almost made amends just four minutes later when he placed a superb kick downfield after clearing up a poor pass from Piri Weepu.  The ball bounced invitingly over the try line but, with Sinoti Sinoti haring after it, Exiles hooker Nathan Morris showed a superb turn of pace to touch down ahead of the winger.

All the menace was from the Falcons but, after Socino weighed in with a second penalty, the Welsh defence at least gave the crowd something to cheer about as Chris Hala’ufia buried Scott Wilson with one of the biggest hits of the season.  The impact was so massive that referee Wayne Barnes awarded a penalty due to the shoulder slipping up, but even that was harsh in my book – the shoulder only touched the chin of the Falcons prop because he crumpled under the force of the hit.  Sinoti missed the resulting penalty attempt, but the men in black weren’t to be denied, with Mark Wilson burrowing over for a score on the cusp of half time after Brookes had flattened Weepu with a big carry in the build up.  Once again, it went unconverted, but visitors held a very healthy 16 – 3 lead at the break.

Exiles coach Justin Burnell would have emphasised the importance of his side scoring next to keep in the game, and they almost did so when Hala’ufia barged his way deep into the Falcons 22, finally creating some quick ball.  Skipper Matt Corker took up the charge and barged his way over the line, but was held up and – eventually – the chance was gone.  It would prove to be so costly for the Premiership new boys.

With just 10 minutes of the new half gone, the visitors delivered their killer blow with worrying ease – Alex Tait running back a hurried clearance kick before Mark Wilson again found space from Sinoti’s offload, before passing inside to Ricky Tipuna for the scrum half to score.  Substitute Rory Clegg nudged over the conversion, and the game was effectively over as a contest.

The Falcons knew the game was won and Dean Richards rang the changes for the final quarter, allowing the home side to dominate the possession and territory, but they were still unable to cross the visitors’ whitewash.  Wilson blotted his copybook with a yellow card for illegally stopping a Welsh driving maul, but it couldn’t ruin the Falcons’ day as they held out for a 23 – 3 win.

For Newcastle, there must now surely be a feeling that the corner has been turned.  Two consecutive wins after 21 defeats on the bounce has restored a feeling of hope to the north-east, won which is being fed by an expansive and entertaining gameplan.  Perhaps now the Falcons can begin – although it is early days – to set their heights higher than merely survival.  But that feeling of optimism strikes a frightening contrast to the feeling amongst London Welsh fans – if they can’t beat their supposed relegation rivals at home, then who can they beat?  The fact of the matter is that they have looked outclassed for the majority of games this season, and unless they can find a way for their pack to deliver quick ball consistently, they will continue to endure this nightmare.

The old saying is that it’s lonely at the top...London Welsh will assure you that it is far worse at the other end.

Around the other grounds in the Aviva Premiership:

Leicester Tigers 22 – 16 Harlequins:  The Tigers finally got their season back on track with a surprisingly convincing win over Quins at a sodden Welford Road.  The hosts went ahead early through a fine Blaine Scully try and largely dominated possession and territory afterwards and, despite a late effort from Karl Dickson, were good value for their win.  Not pretty, but perhaps a start of a recovery.

Exeter Chiefs 44 – 24 London Irish:  The Chiefs delivered a good old fashioned hiding to Irish at Sandy Park, and would have won by even more had they not taken their foot off the gas for the last 10 minutes.  The hosts crossed through Carl Rimmer, Henry Slade, Damien Welch (2) and Don Armand, with the visitors grabbing three late consolations through Blair Cowan (2) and Andy Fenby.

Saracens 28 – 21 Gloucester:  Sarries picked up a deserved win at Allianz Park but they were made to work hard by a rejuvenated Gloucester side.  The hosts crossed through Chris Wyles, Alistair Hargreaves and Chris Ashton, but they struggled to really pull clear of the visitors, who scored tries of their own through Rob Cook and Tom Savage.

Northampton Saints 43 – 10 Sale Sharks:  Saints continued their march towards retaining the title with an utterly dominant display against a previously  dangerous Sale side.  The hosts crossed through Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Kahn Fotuali’i and, most impressively, a Samu Manoa hat-trick, with Sale managing just the one (spectacular ) score through centre Mark Jennings. 

Wasps 29 – 22 Bath: Wasps cast aside memories of a turbulent week and cast aside Bath at the same time, leading 29 – 0 at one stage before the visitors came roaring back into it.  A penalty try and a score from Salosi Tagicakibau, plus THREE yellow cards for Bath (Leroy Houston, Dave Wilson and Mickey Young the deserved recipients), put the men in black well in control, before scores from Jonathan Joseph, Young and Dave Sisi made things interesting.