By Aidan Preece
March 1 2009

The next time you see a one legged man leaning on his crutch kick it away from him and then give him 68 minutes to get back up off the floor. Metaphorically thats what Newcastle did to Northampton today, and whilst a one legged man would probably make it pretty quickly back in to the upright position Saints couldn't muster their forces effectively enough to breach the yawning 19 point chasm

Guinness Premiership Round 15

Northampton Saints 13 v 19 Newcastle Falcons

Franklin's Gardens Saturday 28th February 2009

KO 3.00 pm

that they handed to the opposition in the first 12 minutes of this encounter.

Renditions of Fog on the Tyne might well be ringing around the Falcons supporters coaches (if they brought any?) as they wend their weary way back north but the only fog that intervened in this encounter it was in the heads of the home side.

Newcastle were worth their win though and happily find themselves the first side to complete a league double over Saints; they remain below them only by virtue of points difference but after this performance and with a game in hand they are sure to be looking beyond Northampton rather than back at Worcester and with players like the monumental Hayman in the side who's to say they wont do it?

It was Hayman and Newcastle's scrum that generated the go forward for the first try. The experienced and very effective Tom May probing for early field position got Newcastle deep into the Saints 22 and with barely five minutes gone Falcons confident pack got to the line, John Golding burrowing over.

Three minutes later and Danny Williams secured the second try for Falcons. After some midfield ping pong resulted in what looked like a plausible knock on and possibly a forward pass the Newcastle winger found himself in open country with the try line at his mercy, referee Richards saw well enough to award the try. Tom May making up for his earlier miss also saw fit to split the sticks with the conversion.

May was in the thick of it and between the posts again but this time with the ball in hand barely four minutes later, Saints having yet to cross the Newcastle 10m line mounted an attack of sorts from deep but the all too common curse of the knock on struck hard and deep into the soft Saintly underbelly as the ball slipping from Kruger's grasp bounced beautifully into the arms of the fast advancing May who had a clear run to the line.

That's it in a nutshell. Falcons had little left to do for the remainder of the game except defend stoutly, which they did with aplomb, Saints huffed, puffed, heaved and toiled away but were no match for the Falcons tight five who dominated the scrum and a back row who pounced on everything. The halfbacks of Young and May brimmed with confidence and Noon and Tu'ipulotu out classed the opposing pair of Downey and Mayor.

In fact for the 20 minutes either side of halftime Falcons hardly saw the ball yet the Saints with all the possession and territory failed to come up with anything meaningful until very late in the second quarter. Stephen Myler (did I mention he was a former Rugby League player) converted a penalty ten minutes before halftime as Newcastle killed the ball repeatedly inside their 22, Richards appearing to have left his yellow card in the changing room.

 
With the Saints building some momentum Myler began to grow in confidence and a long flat pass from the No10 got Diggin in to the space that he needed to weave his way around the remaining defenders and crash over for the try. 10 - 19 at halftime looked a little more promising for the home side.
 
But for a missed penalty attempt from May early in the second half Saints continued to look like they might recover from their predicament. A lovely hanging cross field kick from Myler found Diggin who advanced rapidly down the touch line, Kruger followed up just short of the line and with Newcastle scrambling there was still an opportunity for Bruce Reihana who just lost the ball forward at the vital moment.

No doubt frustrated by their own failings and the dominance of the Newcastle one, two and three several punch ups occurred in the front row throughout the afternoon, Not least Sharman who was picked out for the referees very particular attention seven minutes into the second half.

Falcons began to edge back into the game as players began to come and go but Northampton's previously absent defence was at least back in place albeit 19 points too late. Lawes charging down a drop goal attempt from May was a promising spark that only just failed to light the home fires, likewise Tonga'uiha steaming for the line with only eight minutes to go, had most of the locals on their feet, but it was all to no avail and Everitt late, late penalty and bonus point clincher was scant consolation.

In truth Saints lacked the accuracy, incisiveness and invention of their opponents when in possession and at times the side deprived of its international players looked burdened and tired against a first choice Newcastle XV.

Many will be left wondering if they are likely to see many more points from the Premiership at Franklin's Gardens this season with the Saints blighted away form creeping into their home performances. The top three in the league are still left to play and the clubs stated intention of a Heineken Cup place is beginning to look a long, long way away.