Richards fury as forwards crisis costs Falcons
NEWCASTLE suffered their first European defeat of the season as Edinburgh eased to victory at Murrayfield. The Falcons were without many of their key men, who were rested or injured. Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill got the better of his former boss at Leicester Tigers, Dean Richards, and Edinburgh now top Heineken Champions Cup Pool 5. There was chaos before kick-off as Newcastle were forced to play without a full bench. David Wilson was originally selected at tighthead prop, with Trevor Davison a replacement. But with Jon Welsh, Craig Mitchell and Paul Mullen already out, both those picked also withdrew just minutes before the game. Sam Lockwood, usually a loosehead, then played tighthead for 57 minutes. The Falcons wanted to register 24-year-old Jack Payne but as this had to be done before midday on Tuesday, they were denied by EPCR. Most of their prop injuries occurred after the deadline, but the organisers amazingly would not budge. Newcastle boss Richards was livid, saying: ‘Sadly EPCR have been a bit inflexible. If they’re not bothered about player welfare then so be it.’ The Falcons led 13-10 at half-time with Adam Radwan’s try and eight points from Brett Connon’s boot but Edinburgh pulled away. Ulster beat Scarlets 25-24 in a Pool 4 thriller.