By Tom Jeffreys
Newcastle………………………………….14
Tries: Stephens 75
Penalties: Connon 10, 26, 59
Northampton Saints……………………16
Tries: Langdon 53
Conversions: Smith 54
Penalties: Smith 15, 38, 64
Newcastle Falcons were left as the only winless in the Premiership as Northampton Saints' defence came good to secure a 16-14 victory at Kingston Park.
A try from Curtis Langdon, and 11 points from Fin Smith was enough to resist a late Falcons resurgence and take four points back to the midlands.
The match was ultimately defined by persistently heavy rain but Langdon was able to showcase some classic Saints attacking flair, latching onto a sumptuous Tom Pearson offload to dot down.
An unconverted try from Iwan Stephens was too little too late for Newcastle, who will regret their inability to turn points into pressure.
Falcons had the lion's share of territory and possession in an extremely forgettable first half, but the score at half time was 6-6.
Newcastle fly half Brett Connon knocked over the first of his two pens from the ten metre line after Saints lock Chunya Munga was caught offside from a sliced box kick. Just six minutes later, his opposite man Finn Smith tied the scores.
With the rain coming down incredibly heavily, the next scoring chance wasn't until the 25th minute when Ethan Waller conceded a scrum penalty. Connon dissected the posts from a difficult distance and angle; the ball flying true given a lack of wind regardless of the torrential rain.
Smith tied the scores at 6-6 shortly before the half time whistle, the 21-year-old gratefully tapping over a simple kick after standout flanker Guy Pepper was cruelly penalised for disrupting scrum half Tom James.
The two sides came back out to some mercy from the skies, with the rainfall less heavy than the first half. However, with the plastic pitch sodden, the game continued to facilitate conservative rugby.
Saints finally took the game's impetus with an eye-catching try in the 54th minute, as Tom Pearson cut a line off Smith at pace to free his arms and offload beautifully out the back to the on-rushing Curtis Langdon who resisted the desperate attempts of numerous tacklers to dot down and give Smith a simple conversion.
Invigorated by the score, Falcons worked back into Saints territory quickly, and whilst attack was defended well, Connon kicked an easy penalty to make the score 13-9 to the visitors on the hour mark.
With the rain finally having subsided, both sides were able to start playing a bit more ball in hand, and some Saints phases in the Falcons 22 were rewarded with a penalty for Smith.
Seven points down and needing a spark, Northampton's ill-discipline opened the door for a late Falcons comeback.
With Newcastle possession five metres out from Saints' try line, repeated penalties saw left winger George Hendy sin binned, and it was on Hendy's wing that Connon was able to release Iwan Stephens in the corner to tee up a crucial conversion.
Connon's kick was unsuccessful though and despite a classic winding Adam Radwan run, Tom James made the crucial, game-winning intervention with a turnover whilst the clock was in the red.
“Awesome, awesome way to finish,” said player of the match Curtis Langdon. “It's been a tough first few rounds, we've worked hard on our defence this season.
“Defence wins games, especially in weather like this. the boys put the right foot forward tonight, so we're really happy to get that first win of the season.”
“I think it is starting to click. We've seen it in glimpses in the first few games of the season. There was a lot of chat this week about staying in that defensive system for the whole 80.
“We did that tonight, a few discipline issues that probably made it closer than we would've liked. As a whole, our best 80 minute performance all season, so happy with that.”
Newcastle, on the other hand, are still without a win in their first three games this season, and have twice fallen short in horrid weather conditions at home. Head coach Alex Codling remains positive, however, especially with the return of their Argentine quartet from the World Cup imminent.
“Another filthy day here at Kingston Park”, said Codling. “I'm gutted on the one hand, but massively proud on the other. The boys' fight, resilience, was on show today. For what we lack in experience, we more than make up for in our effort, we just need something to roll for us and I'll come bouncing back into training on Monday.”
“Congratulations to Northampton, one chance, one score. That's the Premiership.”
Despite another losing bonus point, Falcons remain at the foot of the table, but will be boosted when Mateo Carreras, Matías Moroni, Pedro Rubiolo, and Eduardo Bello return.
“Those guys have done immensely well for their country,” Codling added. “Again on Friday I thought they were exceptional. We're lucky to have them, and we're looking forward to having them back. Until they do, my focus is solely on this group, and you can't question their heart and energy.”
NEWCASTLE: Obatoyinbo, Radwan, Penny, Jennings, Stephens, B Connon, Stuart; Brocklebank, Blamire, Tampin, Van Der Walt, de Chaves, Cross, G Pepper, Chick
Replacements: Byrne, Brantingham, McCallum, Hawkins, McDonald, O'Sullivan, Lockwood, Orlando
NORTHAMPTON: Furbank, Seabrook, Dingwall, Hutchinson, Hendy, F Smith, James; E Waller, Langdon, Davison, Munga, Coles, Scott-Young, Pearson, Graham.
Replacements: Cruse, A Waller, Millar-Mills, Lockett, Moon, McParland, Grayson, Litchfield
