LEICESTER........................................................................30 Wilson a sinner as Tigers roar to win over Falcons
N NEW Leicester head coach Matt O’Connor made a winning start to his second spell at Welford Road as the Tigers boosted their chances of an Aviva Premiership play-off spot with a bonusonuspoint win at home to Newcastle.
The Australian, who helped Leicestercester win three Premiership titles betweentween 2008 and 2013, saw his fourth-placedplaced side win 30-3 - scoring four tries throughrough E Ellis Genge (two), Telusa Veainuu and Ben Youngs with Freddie Burns kickingicking 10 points.
Newcastle scored one penalty through rough Jo Joel Hodgson.
Leicester were forced to makeke an 1 11th-hour change after number eight L Luke Hamilton injured an ankle in trainin ing.
Brendon O’Connor moved intoto his p place on the back row with reserveeserve hooker Harry Thacker taking over on the openside flank, while George McGuiganuigan replacede captain and hooker Tom Y Youngs who dropped to the bench. .
Hodgson replaced Newcastle fly-halfy-half Mike Delany, who broke a thumb in the win against Gloucester, while Sinoti Sinoti came in on the wing with Marcus W Watson switching to full back.
Leicester spent most of the first period c camped in the Newcastle half but create ed little until the last seconds - w when they scored a controversial tr try.
It came after they won against th the head at a scrum in the Falc cons’ 22 and, after intense forwardward pressure, prop Ellis Genge was awardedarded a try by the TMO even through replayseplays proved inconclusive.
Fly-half Burns missed the touchlinehline c conversion so Leicester left the fieldeld at th the break with 11-3 lead.
Burns kicked penalties in the fifthh and 3 36th minutes while opposite numberumber Hodgson slotted one in the 25th minute. Newcastle were bidding for their first win at Welford Road since 1997 when Dean Richards, their director of rugby, was in the Leicester side.
The ninth-placed Falcons did not look like breaking that barren run as they were forced to defend for long periods.
They did, however, create one of the best chances of the half in the 30th minute when Hodgson sparked a break-out but former Leicester winger Vereniki Goneva did not have the pace to beat the cover and was tackled by scrum-half Ben Youngs.
The hill facing the Falcons had turned into a mountain five minutes after the restart when they were reduced to 14 men - prop David Wilson sin-binned.
He paid the price for Newcastle having conceded five penalties in about four minutes and from a scrum moments later Leicester scored their second try through full-back Veainu, Burns adding the extras.
Genge crashed over for his second in the 56th minute, which Burns converted to make it 25-3. It was followed by a huge fracas but after watching replays refereed Ian Tempest took no action.
Ben Youngs earned Leicester a bonus point with a brilliant 40-metre solo break from a quickly-taken penalty in the 72nd minute. Owen
Wi Wil-l - liams missed the conversion.