Eni Falcons’ nerves settled by Cup romp
WIN SO EASY - AND COACH IS DELIGHTED
DEAN Richards revealed his Newcastle Falcons side was ‘nervous’ yesterday before thumping Russian champions Enisei-STM 64-7.
The Falcons ran in 10 tries in a one-sided rout at Kingston Park to extend their winning run in all competitions to seven and secure their place in the last eight.
If there were any nerves in the Newcastle ranks they were quickly settled as man of the match Tom Penny scored after just 44 seconds.
Joel Hodgson, Simon Uzokwe and Glen Young all scored to give the Falcons a 24-0 half-time advantage before they piled on the points after the break.
Adam Radwan scored a hat-trick as Hodgson, Zach Kibirige and Ryan Burrows completed the rout, Maxim Gargalic grabbing a consolation for the overwhelmed visitors.
The Falcons complete their pool fixtures next weekend in Tbilisi, Georgia, when they face Enisei again and Richards admitted he was surprised by the scoreline - expecting more from the visitors.
However, he was proud of his side’s display and was delighted to seal another resounding European victory.
Director of rugby Richards said: “We were really nervous going into the game and we still are as we have to go over there next week.
“They will not deliver the same at home next week, they will be a totally different side.
“We thought they were going to turn out a far different performance than they did but they are a good team and we showed them a huge amount of respect.”
Despite the now-common raft of changes for cup competitions, the hosts were not taking the game lightly - and proved as much by scoring in the opening minute.
Flanker Uzokwe broke through the Russian line and popped the ball off to Penny, who strolled under the posts.
Enisei’s players hadspoken in interviews of their boots literally cracking in the brutal Siberian cold.
At Kingston Park, it was the Falcons’ pace which froze the visiting defence.
When fly-half Hodgson burst past three defenders to score Newcastle’s second converted try with just 12 minutes gone, it seemed a repeat of 2015 was on the cards.
In the 26th minute, Toby Flood’s long pass enabled Uzokwe to score.
Neat play from number eight Burrows and scrum-half Micky Young freed his namesake Glen for the bonus-point try five minutes later, making it 24-0 at half-time.
The Falcons were far from finished, scoring twice in the first six minutes after the restart.
Captain Wilson broke from a ruck and presented Hodgson with the simplest of opportunities after 43 minutes, Flood converting.
Three minutes later, Radwan showed his trademark speed to zip down the left and score his first of the day.
After a high tackle on 55 minutes, scrum-half Young raced away with the ball in hand, slipping in Radwan who finished off the two-on-one.
Fellow wing Kibirige scored eight minutes later as he chased down a neat kick over the top to score, Hodgson’s conversions taking the score to 50-0. After 69 minutes, there was finally something for the Russians to cheer as a pickand-go saw substitute Gargalic go over, Iurii Kushnarev converting.
Radwan completed his hat-trick by running in an interception from halfway with three minutes left, his seventh try in the competition this season.
That stoppage allowed forward Rob Vickers to come on for his milestone 250th Falcons appearance.
With the game’s final attack, Burrows showed a fantastic turn of pace to score Newcastle’s 10th try, Hodgson converting.