NEWCASTLE Falcons sustained a self-inflicted wound in their battle to avoid the drop last night, with a slap-stick moment handing Exeter Chiefs a valuable Aviva Premiership victory.
Less than a minute after skipper James Hudson had put his side in the lead with a powerful pick-and-go score just past the hour mark, the Falcons conspired to hand their visitors the points on a plate.
Micky Young’s attempted clearance straight from the restart was charged down by a rampant Chiefs pack, leaving winger Matt Jess to dot down the loose ball for the try which leaves Newcastle mired in relegation trouble.
Just as crucial for Alan Tait’s side was the last-minute penalty which denied them the consolation of a losing bonus point, leaving them just three ahead of the bottom spot with nine games left to play.
The previous four meetings between the clubs in all competitions this season had seen home advantage tell on every occasion with two wins apiece, and Exeter made the 370-mile trip north determined to shake off an away record of just one win in six league outings following their promotion from the Championship.
The Falcons, meanwhile, were unbeaten at home in the league for almost four months, although a spate of winter postponements gave that statistic artificial sheen.
Chiefs coach Rob Baxter went once more with the same starting XV which had seen them to a 20-6 home victory over Harlequins last time out, with the Falcons making just two changes as Scotland’s Euan Murray returned to the front-row and Gcobani Bobo slotted onto the wing.
Tim Swinson and Alex Tait had boosted the home side by extending their contracts on the eve of the match, but there was no mistaking the fact that on-field performances remained the only thing on the club’s mind ahead of next weekend’s basement battle at Leeds.
The early intent from the hosts was clear, as a huge midfield hit from Tane Tu’ipulotu saw the ball dislodged from Exeter hands – the eager Newcastle back-row lapping up the loose possession.
Only a swirling wind could prevent Jimmy Gopperth’s ambitious 52-metre penalty from bisecting the uprights just four minutes in, while Luke Fielden got the home crowd going with an arcing run to the 22 from half-way. Still without reward for their early endeavours, the Falcons finally got themselves off the mark as Gopperth’s second penalty attempt hit the target – this time from out wide on the right as scrum pressure told.
Exeter’s first foray into Newcastle territory saw them draw level as Gareth Steenson sent over a 10th minute penalty, and it was more of the same on their second incursion as the fly-half slotted a second. It could have been more, though, after Swinson bailed out his side by holding up the Chiefs forward pack over the try-line following Fielden’s charged-down clearance – the winger dawdling badly as he fielded a high bomb in his own 22. Staying true to their mantra of driven mauls and big forwards coming round the corner at pace, Exeter were getting themselves over the gain-line with increasingly regularity.
A rock solid line-out was at least one area of dominance for the Falcons, with Matt Thompson finding his man time after time in pressure situations. And it was from one such set-piece that Jimmy Gopperth drew the sides level, as his touchline penalty punished Exeter for pulling down a close-range maul.
Steenson fell short with a penalty attempt into the wind just two minutes later, and with no shortage of power in Newcastle’s eager defence, the home side finally started to gather some momentum in the closing stages of the first half. Gopperth tried and failed to take the lead with a penalty from out on the right, but a 6-6 interval score-line was fair.
Newcastle emerged by far the more energetic of the two sides as the second half got underway as Gcobani Bobo and Tait combined out wide from a charged-down clearance, but Gopperth failed to make it tell as his 43rd minute penalty attempt from out wide on the right was pushed past the far post.
Tait was to the rescue in defence as Steenson’s crafty show-and-go got him past the first line of defence, but the fullback left nothing to chance as he smashed the former Rotherham man before he could deliver a scoring pass to the supporting James Scaysbrook.
But there was no stopping Steenson just before the hour mark, as his 40-metre penalty punished Swinson’s needless decision to take out a line-out jumper in mid-air.
Leading by three, Exeter looked to run down the clock in business-like but unspectacular fashion, pumping the ball down to the corners at every opportunity and pegging the Falcons back inside their own half. They could not prevent a resurgent Newcastle side from bouncing back, as skipper James Hudson rounded off a period of patient pick-and-go play to burrow over down the right.
Gopperth rediscovered his range to send through the touchline conversion, but the home side pressed the self-destruct button straight from the restart as Micky Young’s charged-down clearance kick allowed Matt Jess to score in the left corner and take a one-point lead.
Steenson fired wide with the conversion, but soon made amends as a scrummaging infringement handed him the penalty from which the Chiefs’ advantage was extended to four.
The South Stand wing pushed Manning’s long-range penalty wide of the uprights as the Kiwi tried in vein to chip away at the deficit, but the visitors who extended the gap to seven as Steenson dinked over his fourth penalty.
A tense finale saw the losing bonus point wiped off the slate for the home side.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Alex Tait, Luke Fielden, Luke Eves, Tane Tu’ipulotu (James Fitzpatrick, 75), Gcobani Bobo, Jimmy Gopperth (Jeremy Manning, 62), Micky Young (Hall Charlton, 69); Jon Golding (Grant Shiells, 56), Matt Thompson (Rob Vickers, 40, Matt Thompson, 73), Euan Murray (Kieran Brookes, 69), James Hudson (captain), Andrew van der Heijden, Tim Swinson, Will Welch (Mark Wilson, 62), Ally Hogg.
Falcons scorers – Tries: Hudson. Conversions: Gopperth. Penalties: Gopperth 2.
EXETER CHIEFS: Luke Arscott, Matt Jess, Jason Shoemark, Sireli Naqelevuki, Nic Sestaret, Gareth Steenson, Haydn Thomas; Brett Sturgess (Ben Moon, 74), Neil Clark, Chris Budgen (Ignacio Elosu, 77), Tom Hayes (captain), James Hanks (Chad Slade, 64), Tom Johnson, James Scaysbrook, Richard Baxter.
Chiefs scorers – Tries: Jess. Penalties: Steenson 5.
Referee: Sean Davey
Attendance: 5,729
