FALCONS FLOORED
Newcastle hopes are over after battering
BISH, bash, bosh — and so another English rider falls in the Heineken Champions Cup race.
Newcastle were battered i nto submission, and there will be no fairytale final date for them at St James’ Park in May.
It was a one-horse race with the French galaticos scoring five second-half tries, most through whacking forwards and thumping backs.
Ruan Pienaar still reigns supreme at 34. He kicked four of the conversions, Johan Goosen taking one.
Louis Picamoles was his usual combative self, meaning Newcastle were less black and white more black and blue come full-time.
‘Montpellier have a huge amount of world-class players,’ said director of rugby Dean Richards, who had a dozen out injured including Sinoti Sinoit, Johnny Williams and Mark Wilson. ‘You’ve got to be on your mettle to beat them and we weren’t quite there. The amount of injuries we have has played havoc with us. If you can’t put out your best team against a side like Montpellier you will come a cropper.’
Richards confirmed that England back-rower Mark Wilson missed the trip with a shoulder problem and will not play against Toulon next week, though he should be back for his country in the Six Nations.
Newcastle are bottom of t he Gallagher Premiership and Montpellier ninth in the Top 14 and the lack of confidence on both sides was evident in the first half. The Falcons had more possession — 60 to 40 per cent — but did nothing with it.
A Toby Flood penalty was all they could t ake and t wo butchered chances late in the half, the second a poorly executed line-out which Gary Graham dropped five metres out, summed up their profligacy.
There was no subtlety to Montpellier. Their huge forwards smashed on, creating space for almost equally enormous backs. A simple three-on-two saw Fiji wing Timoci Nagusa stroll in, then 23- year- old centre Yvan Reilhac picked a good line to exploit the scrambling Newcastle defence to score and send Montpellier in 12-3 up at the break.
Then came the battering. New France call-up, the South Africanborn lock Paul Willemse, piled over from close range to score having only come on minutes before.
Soon Henry Immelman went over on the blind side for the fourth, with Pienaar landing the toughest kick of the lot. Then Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg flattened poor Flood and ran in for a fifth.
Newcastle were lost by the sixth. An aimless pass intercepted by Immelman for his second try was scored while Montpellier’s replacement hooker Ushangi Tcheishvili was in the sin-bin. The seventh — Romain Ruffenach scoring at the bottom of a brutal rolling maul — almost felt cruel.
Alex King, Montpellier’s assistant coach, said: ‘We have a huge amount of respect for what Dean Richards is doing up at Newcastle. We had to be at our best today.’
ZachKibiri ge did take an unconverted consolation try but Newcastle just weren’t at the Blaydon Races.