Admirable Crichton
Walder's Wasps Walloped
Admirable Crichton
By Leipziger March 4 2007
The Falcons left behind the dark memories of Bristol last night, hitting Dave Walder’s Wasps for five in a superb 37-11 victory at Kingston Park. A strong forward display and some incisive backs running were too hot for the southerners to handle as the Falcons moved up to joint ninth in the table.
Admirable Crichton
The Falcons left behind the dark memories of Bristol last night, hitting Dave Walder’s Wasps for five in a superb 37-11 victory at Kingston Park. A strong forward display and some incisive backs running were too hot for the southerners to handle as the Falcons moved up to joint ninth in the table.
Local Hero Walder was given a roaring reception when his name was read out in the Wasps team, however friendliness was off the agenda once our first home match in six weeks kicked off.
Just a minute or two into the game, captain Matthew Burke took the ball on his own 22 and sprinted the length of the field to score the first try in the left corner, and although Loki Crichton missed the conversion, the scene was set for a great night of Geordie rugby.
Walder however hadn’t been told, as he got Wasps on the scoresheet with a penalty before Crichton kicked two of his own.
Wasps had their share of possession and looked dangerous when they were in the 22, but in general we were defending a lot higher up the pitch than we did at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday, and in a similar fashion to the first try Jamie Noon scored from another long run. Crichton again missed the conversion.
Walder’s second penalty finished off the first half scoring, with the hosts 16-6 up and fronting up well against the experienced Wasps pack.
Our favourite forward-who-plays-like-a-back, Matt Thompson, did just that to get the third try as he took the ball from a forward play dived over from close range on the right, and the conversion pulled us almost out of reach but Wasps scrum-half Mark McMilan stole in to keep the Falcons on their toes, although the try wasn’t converted.
With the South Stand rocking to the sound of RnR’s raspy throat and the Doc’s air-horn, all thought turned to the bonus point which would inch us ever further away from Northampton and Worcester ahead of their trips to Leicester and Gloucester respectively this afternoon.
And it was Mark Mayerhofler, a man who has had to take a back seat at times recently after the emergence of Toby Flood and Mathew Tait, who grabbed the extra point with the fourth try. Joe McDonnell, who is looking a real find in the front row, went through under the posts for his first Falcons score to seal the 37-11 walloping of Wasps.
This pack of Falcons forwards have shown some promise in the last two games as being able to give us a solid platform for our backs to perform, and amazingly last night we stole about four Wasps lineouts, including one which if I remember rightly they didn’t even compete for. The challenge now is to produce it consistently, but whether that happens is of course debatable.
But for now lets just bask in the lorry of an excellent win over a good team, achieved without Toby Flood and Mathew Tait, who we all hope will do more than just warm the bench at Croke Park today.
Just a minute or two into the game, captain Matthew Burke took the ball on his own 22 and sprinted the length of the field to score the first try in the left corner, and although Loki Crichton missed the conversion, the scene was set for a great night of Geordie rugby.
Walder however hadn’t been told, as he got Wasps on the scoresheet with a penalty before Crichton kicked two of his own.
Wasps had their share of possession and looked dangerous when they were in the 22, but in general we were defending a lot higher up the pitch than we did at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday, and in a similar fashion to the first try Jamie Noon scored from another long run. Crichton again missed the conversion.
Walder’s second penalty finished off the first half scoring, with the hosts 16-6 up and fronting up well against the experienced Wasps pack.
Our favourite forward-who-plays-like-a-back, Matt Thompson, did just that to get the third try as he took the ball from a forward play dived over from close range on the right, and the conversion pulled us almost out of reach but Wasps scrum-half Mark McMilan stole in to keep the Falcons on their toes, although the try wasn’t converted.
With the South Stand rocking to the sound of RnR’s raspy throat and the Doc’s air-horn, all thought turned to the bonus point which would inch us ever further away from Northampton and Worcester ahead of their trips to Leicester and Gloucester respectively this afternoon.
And it was Mark Mayerhofler, a man who has had to take a back seat at times recently after the emergence of Toby Flood and Mathew Tait, who grabbed the extra point with the fourth try. Joe McDonnell, who is looking a real find in the front row, went through under the posts for his first Falcons score to seal the 37-11 walloping of Wasps.
This pack of Falcons forwards have shown some promise in the last two games as being able to give us a solid platform for our backs to perform, and amazingly last night we stole about four Wasps lineouts, including one which if I remember rightly they didn’t even compete for. The challenge now is to produce it consistently, but whether that happens is of course debatable.
But for now lets just bask in the lorry of an excellent win over a good team, achieved without Toby Flood and Mathew Tait, who we all hope will do more than just warm the bench at Croke Park today.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
StumbleuponSPORTNETWORK SPECIALS
More Newcastle Falcons headlines
Newcastle Falcons latest threads
Newcastle Falcons Poll
