FORD KICKS THE TIGERS TO VICTORY
Fly-half forgets England woes
GEORGE FORD guided Leicester to victory in front of Eddie Jones as player and coach tried to move on from England’s Six Nations flop.
Ford was at his best with the boot as Tigers handed Newcastle their fourth straight Premiership loss.
But his 16-point haul was overshadowed by an act of foul play from a team-mate which went unpunished and left Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards incensed.
Newcastle prop Jon Welsh had been wound-up by Ellis Genge as the teams warmed up before kick-off.
And 13 minutes into the game he was again the target, this time of a side-entry clear-out by Jasper Wiese, which put him out of the game with a dislocated shoulder.
Richards said: “The guy comes from the side, there’s a leg lift and he’s dislocated his shoulder.
“We’ll be seeking clarity on whether that would be construed as foul play.”
Referee Karl Dickson missed the incident and to add insult to injury for Newcastle, play restarted with a scrum from which Hanro Liebenberg gave
Tigers the lead. “I think Dean’s got a massive point about Welsh,” said former England star turned TV pundit Ugo Monye.
“This is not a witch-hunt against any one player, this is about player protection, player safety and there was no player safety there was there?”
Wiese, returning after a four-week ban, was later yellow-carded for leading with the shoulder as Leicester were reduced to 13 men for a time with George Martin also in the sin bin.
Ford kept a clear head throughout, extending Leicester’s lead to 16-0 at half-time and then using the wind to launch spiral bombs which kept Falcons at bay. The game was up for Newcastle when the fly-half converted Charlie Clare’s late try.
LEICESTER - Tries: Liebenberg, Clare. Cons: Ford 2. Ford 4.
NEWCASTLE - Tries: Welch, Stuart. Con:
Pens: