Falcons throw away bonus point

A late try from Nick Evans denied the Falcons a bonus point yesterday as we threw away a chance to edge slightly further away from the drop zone. In the end, it was a silly kick that wrecked a lot of good effort.

Newcastle had got over the sin-binning of Jimmy Gopperth and Alex Walker's try looked to have secured one point until Evans ran in for his second score to round off a 23-point haul for the All Black.

With James Hudson restored to the second row and Will Welch in the back row, while Chris Pilgrim made a first Premiership start, the Falcons looked to build on Wednesday's win against Gloucester and increase a seven-point gap over bottom side Worcester.

The Falcons again started well and relied on the forwards to make metres before Gopperth knocked over a penalty to put us into the lead, however Evans equalised from the 22 when our fly-half received a yellow card. He was not the first Falcon who could have incurred the wrath of the referee – Tom Biggs had previously knocked on a scoring pass to save a try, but the advantage ran out before the play could be called back.

While Gopperth was of the Falcons received another penalty and Charlie Amesbury went for the posts, but his left-footed kick never troubled the touch judges. Why the Falcons didn't go for the corner or continue keeping the play tight I have no idea.

Evans recalled the dancing of Schalk Brits to break through our defence and score the opening try on the half hour, and then converting it. Thankfully, by the time we got another penalty, Gopperth was back on and scored, leaving us 10-6 down at the break after a first half in which both sides had had a lot of possession but while we relied on forward power, Harlequins used their backs and threatened a lot, but ran into some strong away defending.

Tim Swinson, Alex Walker and Filipo Levi all entered the game in the early stages of the second half, and after just a few minutes a move came right and Walker powered over from the 22 for another try from the hooker. Unfortunately the conversion went wide, and our one-point lead turned into a two-point deficit when Evans knocked over a penalty.

Another increased Quins' lead soon after. The Falcons continued to forage and were very much in the game. With a quarter of an hour left, Gopperth kicked a penalty to reduce the home lead to two points, with Hall Charlton and Pete Browne now adding fresh legs but both teams' defences being on top.

With five minutes left and with the ball on our 22 (and us losing don't forget), the Falcons sent a kick to halfway and Quins ran back unopposed for Evans to score his second and secure the home win. The conversion ensured we left London with nothing.

So not even getting a bonus point after playing quite well was annoying, but the final try shows just why we need new management with fresh ideas that don't involve kicking first and asking questions later. Bonus point thrown away in the most stupid manner.

But at least other results have gone for us in the past week, and one more win should guarantee safety, with a lower-pressure cup game to prepare for the run-in.