Watching...

The First Half

For the first 30 seconds or so Falcons looked good, but it did not last. Gloucester kicked forward, sending Warren Britz sprinting back for the ball alongside a Gloucester player. Britz won the race but Dave Walder's over long clearance kick was charged down, resulting in a mad scramble for the ball on the try line. The Falcons tried to carry the ball over to safety but fumbled it and Gloucester centre Robert Todd pounced on the loose ball to score. Henry Paul slotted the conversion and just one minute into the game Gloucester were ahead 7 - 0.

Newcastle tried to fight back pushing up into the Glooucester half, sending the ball out wide however the pass meant for Tom May went into touch.

This set the tone for the rest of the half, Newcastle Falcons having moments (and I mean moments) where they looked okay before making mistakes, knocking on, getting penalised at the ruck or losing an attacking line out. Rob Andrew described the first half balance of play as being fairly even, but Falcons simply made "too many mistakes".

Newcastle made too many mistakes but let's be clear about it, Gloucester were superb, quick on the break, spreading the ball wide, playing a fast paced game with game breakers throughout the side. Had they been playing any side other than the team I support they would have been a joy to watch!

Gloucester went 10 - 0 up Henry Paul kicking a penalty after Newcastle were penalised for playing the ball on the floor (or at least I think that's what it was for!!).

10 minutes in to the match Gloucester went offside giving Dave Walder the chance to claw back the deficit, unfortunately this was not Dave's day and he missed.

There were yet more mistakes from the Falcons before half time, after pressurising the Gloucester pack and successfully turning their scrum 90 degrees the Newcastle Falcons attack came to nothing. James Grindal knocked on when retrieving the ball from a ruck.

Gloucester were awake to every opportunity intercepting a wayward Falcons pass. Gloucester chipped the ball on again forcing Warren Britz into a sprint to cover. Newcastle Falcons luck held that time though as from the ensuing ruck the ball came back out to Tom May who cleared.

Gloucester's second try came after 28 minutes as Marcell Garvey outran Martin Shaw on the wing. Henry Paul converted taking the score to a truly depressing 17 - 0.

Just 10 minutes later Falcons' defence failed them again, Henry Paul breaking through the Newcastle line. Gloucester surged forward paralysing Newcastle as Duncan McRae cut diagonally across the pitch to score in front of the Shed for try number 3. Henry Paul, having a brilliant game, slotting the conversion. 24 - 0 to Gloucester.

Wishful Thinking?

Heading into injury time and we were 24 points down... By this point remembering how Gloucester came back from a 20 point deficit to beat us last season I was wistfully thinking of fightbacks...

And fightback Newcastle did. Hugh Vyvyan (pictured) broke clear, looking certain to go over and score. Caught near the posts, for a moment it looked like Falcons luck had deserted them yet again, but Vyvyan passed the ball to Tom May who finished the move off under the posts, giving Walder an easy conversion.

Half Time: Gloucester 24 - Newcastle Falcons 7

A half time substitution saw saw Hall Charlton on for James Grindal with no changes to the Gloucester side.

Initially the second half looked promising as Gloucester were penalised early on for pulling down the lineout, Falcons kick took them up to the 22m line. Stuart Grimes secured the line out ball, Jon Dunbar took the ball up the field, but Falcons infringed at the ruck allowing Gloucester to clear to half way.

From then on Gloucester's strength in depth showed, substituting Junior Paramore with James Forrester. In contrast Newcastle Falcons looked tired and directionless, like they did not have a clue how to cope with Gloucester. Defensively poor and on the back foot for the rest of the match Newcastle deteriorated further rarely getting out of their own half.

Something happened down in the far corner of the pitch (sorry but my eyesight isn't that good!), and referee Dave Pearson had a word with Garath Archer. Soon after Archer was substituted for Craig Hamilton.

However not even the arrival of Stretch could halt the Gloucester juggernaut, the bonus point and try number 4 came from James Forrester and Henry Paul finally put a foot wrong missing the conversion. Gloucester 29 - Newcastle Falcons 7.

With 10 minutes to go GLoucester were still pushing hard and somehow Falcons somewhat flimsy defense held keeping Gloucester out. Both sides brought on fresh players, Gloucester replaced Andy Gomersall and Adam Eustace with Alex Page and Mark Cornwell, while Falcons switched hookers with Nick Makin taking over from Matt Thompson.

22 points up and do Gloucester sit back and relax? No, as Hall Charlton is down on the deck after getting squished when a tackle rolled over him, Gloucester break out wide and Terry Fanolua (the late replacement for non-starter James Simpson-Daniel) scores their 5th try of the match. Henry "I can't do much wrong this match" Paul converts. Gloucester 36 - Newcastle Falcons 7.

With just five minutes left Falcons substitute Ian Peel bringing on development squad member Dave Wilson.

Hugh Vyvyan broke from half way, not trusting himself to go the distance Hugh passed the ball, and Henry Paul intercepted... It was definitely one of those days!

Going into the final moments of the game Falcons suddenly revived finishing on a high. A newly shorn Joe Shaw broke through and was tackled into touch. A Gloucester infringement gave Falcons the kick for the corner, and Falcons managed to drive off an attacking line-out, with Warren Britz breaking loose to score in the corner. Dave Walder's day did not improve as he missed the difficult conversion.

Final Score: Gloucester 36 - Newcastle Falcons 12

So did we have any excuses?

Newcastle's DoR Rob Andrew was refreshingly honest after the match, refusing to blame injuries or any other "issues" he simply said:

"We just got beaten by a better side. We were outplayed and made too many mistakes."

"It's effectively 3 weeks since we've played and we looked like it, while they have had four weeks in Europe and look like their game has gone up a notch."

Rob continued praising the way Gloucester play, and admitted that he considers them (along with Wasps) as one of the best two sides in the country.

New Signing

On a positive note for Falcons fans Rob annoounced that Daryl Lilley will be joining Newcastle this week as wing and fullback cover till the end of the season.

Player Roundup

Not many plus points this week, Jamie Noon had an unusually poor game, it looked like he was trying too hard his passing and tackling were both well below par, perhaps the presence of Clive Woodward was having a detrimental effect? Matt Thompson had problems with the accuracy of his longer lineout throws.

On the positive side Hugh Vyvyan and Warren Britz stood out for their determination and workrate. Vyvyan made a few breaks and some hard tackles and Warren Britz worked hard in defence.

Mally's Man of the Match: Henry Paul

Starting Line-Ups

Referee: Dave Pearson
Touch Judges: Huw Jones-Williams, Lloyd Jackson

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