By Jordan Jones
It was an unforgettable night at Kingston Park as Newcastle Falcons won their first Gallagher Premiership match in 19 months against winless Exeter Chiefs. A try from Philip Van der Walt and a brace from Jamie Blamire was enough for the Falcons to end their 25-game losing streak.
Exeter started excellently. In the 4th minute Ben Redshaw flew off his line and missed his tackle leaving his counterpart Josh Hodge with acres of space in the Falcons’ 22. He found none other than Immanual Feyi-Waboso free on the right-hand side who dived over the line to build on his two tries from last week.
But the Falcons fought back ten minutes later through phase after phase on the Chiefs’ five-yard line. It was Philip Van der Walt who broke the Exeter wall. He was tackled short of the line but managed to place the ball over the try line, avoiding double movement.
With Ethan Grayson’s extra two points, Newcastle took the lead.
Hodge would quickly re-capture his side’s lead with a converted penalty in the 22nd minute and another on the 24th. Newcastle would drive over the line yet again six minutes later, showing resiliency rarely seen from the squad in recent times. Hooker Jamie Blamire was the man who capitalized on an unfocused Exeter line and powered over for a jaw dropping try. They led 14 – 11 at half time but not before Richard Capstick was sent to the bin.
The Chiefs were crumbling under the power of the home side’s forwards throughout the first half and this yellow card encapsulated their difficulties in the driving maul. Exeter would have to start the second half behind on the pitch, and the scoreboard. Kingston Park grew in belief with every second of the game.
And the Geordie fans erupted fifteen minutes into the second half as Newcastle drove from five yards out. The power, the noise, the confidence all on display as the men in black stormed through the Chiefs.
Unbelievably, Jamie Blamire got another try. Grayson kicked his conversion again and suddenly, the team who were on a 25-game losing streak not only led by ten points but were looking for the bonus point. A Newcastle win in the league has been about as rare as a Hooker scoring a hattrick. But an hour in, both of these things were very plausible.
Exeter kicked back but not in the right way. They got a penalty 60 meters out and elected to go for the posts. Josh Hodge got the power but not the direction and the gap between the two sides remained at ten points. The cheers would have lit up Brunton Road when Ethan Grayson capped off a 20-phase attack with an elating drop goal. It meant that Exeter needed two converted tries in ten minutes to break the hearts of the home team.
Steve Diamond extraordinarily walked down to the touchline to bellow at his side to keep composed, knowing just how much a win would mean. You started to feel that this would be a special night at Kingston Park as the belief that suffocated the stadium became a glowing air of anticipation.
Just as a win seemed inevitable, Josh Hodge found himself running down the left and diving over on the far left. He converted a tough kick in a blaze of nervousness. Newcastle forced an error with seconds on the clock and for the first time in a lifetime, the Geordies reigned victorious.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS: 24
TRIES: 3 (Van der Walt 18’ Blamire 30’ 56’)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Grason 19’ 30’ 57’)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 1 (Grayson 69’)
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
FALCONS: 15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 5 John Hawkins, 6 Philip van der Walt, 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Callum Chick (captain)
EXETER CHIEFS: 18
TRIES: 1 (Feyi-Waboso 4’ Hodge 78’)
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Hodge 79’)
PENALTIES: 2 (Hodge 22’ 24’)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Capstick 36’)
RED CARDS: 0
CHIEFS: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Olly Woodburn, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Sam Maunder; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 3 Marcus Street, 4 Rusi Tuima, 5 Franco Molina, 6 Ethan Roots, 7 Richard Capstick, 8 Ross Vintcent
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Greg Fisilau, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Ben Hammersley
