Falcons off to flier with win double
NEWCASTLE Falcons racked up 12 tries in a pair of comfortable victories to kick off pre-season.
Dean Richards’ side coasted to a 31-8 win over Doncaster Knights before blitzing Nottingham 49-19.
Adam Radwan, Sinoti Sinoti, Sam Stuart, Joel Hodgson and Ben Sowrey all got on the scoresheet in a tidy performance against the Knights.
The Falcons followed that up with another strong display, including a fivetry second-half barrage to blow away Nottingham.
Add in 10 debuts – including strong showings from Maxime Mermoz and Toby Flood – and it was a terrific start to pre-season for Richards’ side.
The Falcons chief opted to share his big hitters between his two sides at Kingston Park, testing out various pairings ahead of the new season.
Doncaster opened the scoring from the penalty tee. Radwan conceded a penalty for obstruction and Dougie Flockhart slotted the 30m kick over for a 3-0 lead.
But the Falcons recovered well and notched their first try after 20 minutes.
Chris Harris’ neat footwork and grubber kick enabled Radwan to steam through and touch down in the corner, with Hodgson tacking on the con- version. And 10 minutes later, Sinoti Sinoti showed a burst of speed for a superb 40-yard solo try, making the score 12-3 at the break. Newcastle extended the lead with a third try five minutes after half-time. The superb Harris trucked over his tackler to free Stuart for a simple score in the corner. It took another half-hour for the game to spark into life again before Hodgson added a try of his own. But in a rare attacking foray, the visitors had their first try two minutes later as Will Burden powered over in the corner, the conversion coming back off the crossbar. The Falcons re-established their 21-point lead courtesy of Ben Sowrey’s easy try courtesy of a right-wing overload. Hodgson knocked through the conversion to seal a 31-8 win. Richards fielded a completely different XV for the second game, with high-profile Frenchman Mermoz getting his first start. It took just six minutes for the Falcons to pick up where they left off, Simon Uzokwe touching down underneath the posts after a strong start, with Willis converting to make it 7-0. But Nottingham responded well, winning a pair of penalties before hooker Jimmy Stevens went over seven minutes later. N e w c a s t l e reclaimed the lead in style on 17 minutes thanks to an 80-metre surge down the left wing, with Brett Connon finishing the move. But the visitors got their reward for a passage of good play on 34 minutes as they broke down the right wing and Joe Cobden’s kick-through was dived on by Murray McConnell, cutting Newcastle’s lead to 14-12.
Newcastle came out the more ambitious after the break and 12 minutes later they reeled off two quick converted scores.
Half-time substitute Flood, Mermoz and Juan Pablo Socino all combined to free Stevenson, while prop Mavinga added the side’s fourth try four minutes later.
But Nottingham weren’t finished as substitute Alex Goble returned an interception for a try on 62 minutes, with Will Sutton converting to make it 28-19.
Falcons captain Ally Hogg hit back to extend the advantage, while Newcastle showed some stoic defence moments later.
Mark Wilson picked up a yellow card but it made little difference as the hosts marched down to the other end for Scott Lawson to touch down. Flood freed Socino to touch down with the last action of the game.
The Falcons continue their pre-season preparations at home to Rotherham on Saturday.