Our Falcons produced a performance of attacking intent and flair combined with a pressured defence to get our first win of the season with several players having superb games.

Teamwise, we started Mathew Tait for the first time this year, while Geoff Parling replaced Stuart Grimes and Owen Finegan and Ben Woods made their first Falcons starts.  And not one of these selections will Rob Andrew regret.

But he could have.  Straight from kick-off, Finegan dropped a catch and within three minutes Northampton had crossed our line through Mark Soden.  Fortunately for us, referee Roy Maybank decided late (but correctly) that a crossing had occurred in the build-up, and the try was disallowed.

Having been dominated by the Saints for the first ten minutes, on one of our first attacks David Walder completed a crossfield move and latched onto a chip to touch down for the opening points of the game, the video ref deciding (again correctly) to give us the thumbs up.  Matt Burke, taking over kicking duties, converted for a 7-0 Falcon lead.

Northampton captain Bruce Reihana cut the deficit on 17 minutes with a penalty, but missed another from halfway soon after.

Man of the match Jamie Noon then made an excellent break through the middle and was poleaxed by a beast of a tackle on halfway.  Finegan rumbled on, and eventually we came away with points as Walder scored a drop-goal in front of the posts.

Burke then extended our lead with a penalty after Finegan was dumped near the home line to give us a 3-13 advantage, which Reihana could have reduced when he missed an easy offside penalty.  Ben Cohen had a good chance with a kick and chase just before half time but Tait grounded the ball, and shortly after the resulting scrum we won a penalty, our pack now being bolstered with a bloody-faced Andy Perry who had returned after being temporarily replaced by Stuart Grimes.

And so we went into the interval with a 10-point lead having dominated Northampton for much of the first half, but as always watching this team, the excitement was just beginning.

In the second half Northampton again began the better team, Reihana kicking his second penalty after we pulled a lineout down (was that when I stated the obvious “Finegan plays on the edge”?), (Mark’s note – I think it was, when I replied that you don’t win fifty-odd caps for Australia without breaking a few laws) but we again took control of the game with Perry and Parling stealing a few lineouts.

Tait made two superb kick-and-runs down the left, the first almost ending with a try but the home defender just got to the ball ahead of him.  The video ref was again called on for his view, and again got the decision spot on.  But our three-quarters were still finding ways to break Northampton’s defensive lines, particularly Noon in the centre.

Our victory was given much greater likelihood on 68 minutes when a lineout in Northampton’s half was fed to Walder and the Local Hero dropped his second goal of the match to restore our lead to ten points.

But, as so often happens in rugby matches, Northampton spent the last period of the match on a relentless attack, Reihana kicking a penalty on the 80 to move his side towards a bonus point and a conversion away from a draw.  Coming into injury time, we Falcons knew we could not lose, but the win was there to be fought for.

Here Colin Charvis and Owen Finegan came into their own, spoiling Northampton’s attacks and ensuring that we pressured the tackles, in order to enforce a multitude of knock-ons and turnovers.  Unfortunately, every time we got the ball, all we could do was kick for a home lineout.

But finally, after 87 minutes of stress, Maybank blew the final whistle and the Falcons could celebrate with their travelling fans (there seemed a heck of a lot today!) a wonderful victory, achieved through a foundation of quality attacking and topped off with gritty defending.

Whisper it quietly, but the last time we won at Northampton we won the Championship…YES, I know I said that this time last year after we beat Bath, and of course today’s game is just the first win of a long season.  What today’s victory gives us though is the knowledge and experience of a good away performance, whether we choose to build on it however is another question.

We still have to beat Bath next week though, because even I know we probably won’t get much from Leicester and Gloucester.  On the plus side, everyone in a Geordie shirt can feel proud today, particularly Matt Burke, Jamie Noon, David Walder and Geoff Parling.

Parling in particular showed he can be a good lineout player as well as showing pace in the loose.  Opinions on Owen Finegan ranged from him being energetic and committed to him having a bad back.  I personally believe the former.  And Walder’s tactical kicking played a big part in our keeping Northampton in their half, especially in the second 40.  It was much more effective than the hit-and-hope we tend to adopt when losing.

So, onto another home game next week.  The Premiership is so tight and competitive that a win against Bath is so important, maybe even more so to build on the momentum we began today.

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