Newcastle v Tigers Match Report
By hww27
September 19 2011
It seemed strange to be visiting Kingston Park in September after becoming accustomed to the somewhat inevitable April meeting of the two teams, but it was on a pleasant September Saturday that I must admit, with some trepidation given the previous results, I and the solid Tigers support made the long trip north to see two teams, somewhat inconcievably in Tigers case, at the bottom of the league fight it out.
After various reports of how the team relaxed the previous night, from hot baths and Entourage to making tractor noises,(you can take the boy away from the farm...)the team showed up safe and sound at Kingston Park and looked impressive as they warmed up in the sunshine.A late casualty was Matt Smith who was replaced late by Andy Forsyth but otherwise all was good.
Drama began early as Tigers conceded a penalty which was neatly tucked away by Jimmy Gopperth, however Tigers hit back quickly and within 3 minutes Billy Twelvetrees had dispatched Tigers penalty to bring the two teams level.
However he wasnt so lucky with the next kick which went to the television official and was ruled out. The Falcons were really piling on the pressure at this point and a try looked certain but it was only through good work from Niall Morris that denied Alex Tait a try for Falcons. The tension was broken 13 minutes in though when the ball was punted onto the roof of the West Stand and bounced back incredibly bizarrely, giving the touch judge quite a fright and the West Stand quite a laugh!
Unfortunately the laughing stopped for the Tigers fans when Gopperth dispatched another penalty on 15 minutes, however Tigers dominated from the restart and good work from the backs enabled Ed Slater to touch down in the bottom left hand corner for his first try for Tigers. Unfortunately this went unconverted and Falcons gained advantage from the restart, leading to another big push deep into Tigers' half. Julian Salvi spotted a hole and darted off only to be denied by the whistle. However Falcons held firm and Greg Goosen pushed through to score a try for Falcons.
Bad news for Tigers when Skivington was injured with 9 minutes to go of the first half and he spent a long time being treated seemingly for a neck injury and he was subbed on the stroke of half time. More bad news at the beginning of the second half when not only was Julian White subbed and replaced by Kieran Brookes, he only lasted two minutes before injuring his ankle and being replaced by Michael Holford. There was barely time to adjust to this when Falcons ran in a sneaky try. And Twelvetrees missed yet another penalty to a soundtrack of donkey noises from the Falcons fans behind the goal.
However the excitement level was upped when Tigers again took the lead on 54 minutes when good work in the right hand corner allowed Salvi to burst over the line and touch down for his first Tigers try however the disbelief was almost tangible when Twelvetrees struck the right hand post with what seemed a sure conversion, leaving Tigers with just a one point lead. Falcons wing Luke Fielden attempted to take advantage from the restart but was quickly halted and Tigers fans let out a collective breath.
The animosity from the Falcons fans seemed to move up a stage with the appearance of Micky Young on 61 minutes, and the cacophony of boos became deafening. This didnt phase Young though who merely grinned sheepishly. Two further penalties (one for each side) followed and going into the final minutes of the game Tigers mounted a massive push deep into Falcons half, with excellent attempts from Mafi, Kitchener and several of Tom Youngs' trademark crashing moves all just falling short.However the persistence paid off and Mafi crossed the line on 76 minutes much to the relief of the Tigers fans who no doubt saw a total embarrassment looming. Unfortunately amid another cacophony of boos Twelvetrees missed the conversion and despite real edge of your seat stuff from both sides in the dying seconds Tigers held firm to deny Gopperth the opportunity of a drop goal, and then Ford booted into touch for Tigers first win of the season.
Total and utter relief seemed to be the order of the day - the players looked happy and relaxed although some of them battered and bruised as they emerged into the late afternoon sunshine to begin the long journey back to Leicester.The squad rotation looked to have worked and there defintely emerged some players to watch - however now the question is with the squad already decimated, what will the game against Saracens bring? Who knows. But for now we've climbed the dizzying heights of the table and maybe, just maybe, there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:24:22:22:21 by Stephen Bath.
Posted by: jojo (IP Logged)
Date: 19 September, 2011 09:19
Thanks hww27.
Probably felt like the starter before next weeks main course.
Posted by: Stopsy (IP Logged)
Date: 19 September, 2011 09:25
Many thanks HWW27. So Tom Youngs is stalking you after the games?
Posted by: hww27 (IP Logged)
Date: 19 September, 2011 11:51
no not quite :-) havent seen him much this season so he stopped for a quick chat when i saw him after the game. Honest
Posted by: IDLETIMES (IP Logged)
Date: 19 September, 2011 12:21
And for the third game running, it could have gone either way and we were again within an ace, or at least a jack, of getting a 5 point win.
...