It took until the 74th minute for Leicester Tigers to finally subdue gutsy opponents. The play-offs are no longer the dim prospect they appeared early in the season, but yesterday’s fourth consecutive Aviva Premiership victory was no thing of beauty and took gritted teeth in a tantalising finish.
Had Newcastle maintained the composed approach that distinguished their first 40 minutes, it could have been embarrassing for the visiting team, who eventually relied on Freddie Burns’s crossfield kick to Mathew Tait to come up trumps.
Tait found himself one on one with younger brother Alex, his opposite number as Newcastle full back. Mathew won the airborne sibling rivalry and the ball squirted loose for Tommy Bell to touch down before Burns curled the conversion over from the touchline.
It was tough on Newcastle and Dean Richards, their director of rugby and veteran of 21 years at Welford Road. “Of the 13 leagues game we’ve lost, we’ve now scored more tries than the opposition in seven,” Richards said.
Two first-half tries were testimony to Newcastle’s adventurous approach, but they suffered terribly at tight-head in the absence of four specialists. That Leicester did not make more of their natural set-piece advantage was remarkable, although Tom Croft dislocating a shoulder did not help their equilibrium. “We found a way to win, but played poorly,” Richard Cockerill, the Leicester director of rugby, said.
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Scott Lawson was driven over after nine minutes with Leicester confounded by Newcastle’s rolling maul. All Leicester had to show for their misfiring efforts before the break were a brace of penalty goals by Burns as scrum after scrum went down, while Sinoti Sinoti scored after taking Adam Powell’s looping pass. Burns then nudged Leicester back to within three points and was short with a slightly desperate attempt from halfway before Bell’s intervention.
Scorers: Newcastle Falcons: Tries: Lawson 9, Sinoti 36. Conversion: Catterick. Leicester Tigers: Try: Bell 74. Conversion: Burns. Penalty goals: Burns 3 (15, 29, 58).
Scoring sequence (Newcastle first): 7-0, 7-3, 7-6, 12-6 (half-time), 12-9, 12-16.
Newcastle Falcons: A Tait; S Sinoti, A Powell, JP Socini (rep: G Tiesi, 63), A Tuilagi (rep: N Cato, 75); T Catterick, R Tipuna (rep: S Takulua, 75); R Vickers, S Lawson (rep: R Hawkins, 75), A Rogers, D Barrow, K Thompson (rep: J Furno, 41), R Mayhew (rep: J Saull, 75), W Welch, M Wilson.
Leicester Tigers: M Tait; N Morris (rep: T Bell, 42), V Goneva, S Bai (rep: J Roberts, 67), A Thompstone; F Burns, S Harrison; M Ayerza (rep: M Rizzo, 59), T Youngs (rep: L Ghiraldini, 59), L Mulipola (rep: F Balmain, 59), S de Chaves, G Parling, T Croft (rep: J Salvi 36), J Gibson, L Pearce (rep: J Crane, 51).
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Referee: L Pearce. Attendance: 9,019.