Northampton get back on track with Falcons victory

Premiership champions Northampton Saints got back to winning ways with a 10-35 victory over Newcastle Falcons at KIngston Park in the Aviva Premiership on Sunday.

Last week Northampton suffered their first Premiership defeat since April against Wasps but have now got their campaign back on track with a bonus point win which moves them up to third place in the standings

The loss is Newcastle Falcons 19th successive Aviva Premiership Rugby defeat.

A 77th minute try from George North secured Northampton Saints the victory.

A strong start from the away side brought tries from Will Hooley, Alex Waller
and Ken Pisi. The champions were then in control and North grabbed a fourth
late on.

Newcastle responded through a second-half score from ex-Northampton player
Noah Cato but that, allied with five points from centre Juan Pablo Socino, was
all they could muster.

The Falcons were made to pay for the slowest of starts that saw Saints fly
through them at will, with points flowing freely.

The home side had lost their previous 18 outings and they were always up against
it versus stronger opposition, whereas Saints were sharp from the first whistle,
looking determined to recover from the setback at Wasps a week earlier.

And Jim Mallinder’s side were 10-0 up inside six minutes. Hooley was the man
with all the points as he added the extras to a try and then landed a penalty
following the sin-binning of Newcastle number eight Ally Hogg.

Saints continued to pour forward, aided by Hogg’s absence and they soon had
another penalty to show for their efforts, with Hooley again hitting the target.

The visitors were simply too slick for their hosts and after Samu Manoa and
Kahn Fotuali’i cut another hole in the Falcons defence, Waller pushed his way
over to score.

Falcons did respond through a Socino penalty and were further boosted by Hogg’s
return to the field. But Saints struck an immediate riposte through the boot
of Hooley and soon grabbed a third try as Manoa and Fotuali’i again combined,
this time setting up Ken Pisi for a simple score.

Hooley made it 28-3 with 27 minutes gone but the Falcons had the bit between
their teeth after the interval, clearly being sent out with the words of Dean
Richards ringing in their ears.

And they came close to grabbing a try in the early stages of the second period,
but Saints held out.

But Newcastle would score next, with Cato making the most of some quick thinking
from a penalty to score. Socino converted to cut the gap to 18 points and Saints
were looking likely to struggle to get the fourth try they wanted.

But with just three minutes to go, up popped North out wide to grab the extra
point.

Final Score Newcastle Falcons 10 (3) Northampton Saints 35 (28)

Scorers

Newcastle Falcons
Tries – Cato
Pen – Socino
Con – Socino
Drop –
Cards –

Northampton Saints
Tries – Hooley, A Waller, K Pisi, North
Pen – Hooley (3)
Con – Hooley (2), Wilson
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: Greg Garner (67th Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Stuart Terheege and Ashley Rowden.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.

Teams

Newcastle Falcons

15. Simon Hammersley, 14. Noah Cato, 13. Adam Powell, 12. Juan Pablo Socino, 11. Alex Tuilagi, 10. Phil Godman, 9. Mike Blair, 8. Ally Hogg. , 7. Will Welch (c), 6. Josh Furno, 5. Dom Barrow, 4. Calum Green, 3. Scott Wilson, 2.