SAINTS SHOW THEIR BELIEF
Premiership Round-up
NORTHAMPTON boss Phil Dowson breathed a sigh of relief after his side held on to beat Newcastle 32-31 at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saints were 13-0 up then 32-14 in front but Falcons threatened to rain on their parade before the hosts held out for a bonus point win.
Wing Ollie Sleightholme grabbed two tries out of five for the hosts but Newcastle went back up north with two bonus points.
Dowson said: “I’m really pleased with things like character and belief because those are things you can’t coach.
“There’s a group of players who are really emotionally invested in what we’re trying to do.”
At Kingsholm GLOUCESTER won west country bragging rights with a 31-28 win over BRISTOL. Fly-half Adam Hastings nailed the crucial penalty as the Cherry and Whites condemned their neighbours to a third straight defeat.
England prop Ellis Genge scored his fourth try of the season for Bears as Bristol levelled early in the second half but Gloucester held on, although boss George Skivington was not impressed.
He said: “I thought the doggedness, the character of the boys was outstanding, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.
“We had some good plays and probably got sucked into their mindset a little bit which isn’t our game, and then there were probably a few moments when we tightened up when it got tense that we could have played.”
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam moaned: “We butchered a lot of tries and it became about the team which showed indiscipline. And, unfortunately, we gave away a crucial penalty.”