Newcastle Red Bulls 17-39 Leicester Tigers: Red Bulls’ wait goes on as Tigers hit stride

By Luke Jarmyn

Newcastle Red Bulls …..17pts

Tries: Grayson 21, Palframan 76 Conversion: Connon 22, 77

Penalty: Connon 33

Leicester Tigers ………… 39pts

Tries: Thompson 13, Moro 23, 72; Steward 56, Reffell 80 Conversions: Searle 14, 24, 57; O’Connor 73

Penalties: Searle 7, 62

If Leicester Tigers want to win a record 12th Premiership title, then finding a way to win a gruelling contest in blustery conditions is essential, and that’s exactly what they did on Friday night as Newcastle Red Bulls‘ wait for a Prem win extends to a year.

Argentine back rower Joaquin Moro scored two tries in a stand-out display.

The East Midlanders forwards dominated at scrums and lineouts to ensure the title chasers continued where they left off before the international break, making it four wins in their last five Prem games.

Freddie Steward, who put in a try-scoring showing, told The Rugby Paper: “We knew before we came here that these boys would be up for it and that it would be a proper good scrap.

Class

“Even if it did take 60 to 70 minutes to break Newcastle down, we knew we just had to keep going, and, credit to them, they stuck with us all the way through, but we showed some real class tonight.

“It’s great to be back with the boys after the internationals, I’ve been looking forward to it after having a great few weeks with England.

“But this is what I love doing, being in a tough game which wasn’t very pretty.

“It took our lineout a little bit to fire, but in the second half everything came together.”

Match action

With a cold south-westerly wind swirling over Kingston Park’s third sell-out league game in a row, it was lively straight from kick-off, with both teams having time on the ball before a penalty against Freddie Lockwood for holding on led to Billy Searle kicking from the tee to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

Tigers got a rub of the green in the 13th minute when the officials ignored a clear double movement on the floor to award lock James Thompson a try after a well-worked move from a short lineout.

Things didn’t get much better for referee Sara Cox, and there was confusion among fans of all colours when four minutes later Leicester wing Ollie Hassell-Collins was sin-binned for a head-on-head contact with Ethan Grayson, despite replays showing a lack of contact from the former London Irish flyer.

Newcastle made the man advantage work, and some great foresight from Brett Connon saw the pivot’s over the head pass set up full-back Grayson to skirt his opposite number and dash over right of the posts.

Unfortunately, Red Bulls basics failed them on the restart, and excellent work under a high ball by returnee ex-Falcon Adam Radwan, and some deft movement from Harry Wells, led to Moro scoring by the posts.

Leicester’s penalty count and handling errors tallied, and Connon kicked three more points off the tee to keep it a one-score game at half-time.

Delight: Freddie Steward celebrates his try

Second half

Whatever happened in Tigers’ dressing room at the interval seemed to work as Geoff Parling’s side stepped up, forced six straight penalties to be conceded by Newcastle before Radwan ripped through three players on the right to get within touching distance of the whitewash before Searle found Steward on the left, who handed off Grayson to score just before the hour mark.

James O’Connor’s entrance provided renewed zip from the visitors, and his work led to Moro running 60 metres to link and dive over for the bonus-point try.

Red Bulls replacements showed their worth as debutant Simón Benítez Cruz set up prop Richard Palframan to muscle over before Leicester’s Tommy Reffell scored off a spinning maul at the death.

Leicester fly-half Billy Searle said: “It is a real challenge mentally to come to Kingston Park and win.

“It’s cold, not as many fans travel up and you’ve got to be together as a group to get the result, and we did that.”

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