After going into half time with a 16-8 advantage over the visitors having played well, Newcastle capitulated in the second half and barely broke into the Bath half.

The day started tensely as I made it into the ground barely 2 minutes before kick off thanks to the U-Call bus, and almost straight away Olly Barkley put Bath ahead with an offside penalty.  Matt Burke equalised with a penalty of his own though after Jamie Noon’s break set up Mathew Tait to make a run down the left, and then on 18 minutes David Walder hit a superb drop goal from an awkward position on the right.

Barkley didn’t seem to have his best kicking boots on as he missed three in the first half, and the game threatened to turn into a kicking contest as Andy Long and Geoff Parling stormed forward from a turnover only for Burke to miss the resulting penalty from halfway.  Our Aussie full back scored his next kick though after his own good run down the right for a 9-3 lead.

It was Burke who scored our only try of the game, with five minutes of the half to go as he cut through the Bath defence from close range, and converted his own score.  At 16-3, everything looked rosy.

Bath reminded us though that we were in a game by going over twice in the closing first half minutes after Cory Harris had been sin-binned, the first attempt being disallowed for a knock-on but Bath coming straight back and Matt Stevens driving over.  Barkley missed the conversion, but at 16-8 his side were still in the game.

But we had done well so far and deserved to be in the lead.

Whatever was said at half time though, a different Newcastle came out for the second half.  All I can do is describe the scoring because almost all of the second 40 was played in our half.  Martyn Wood scored five minutes after the restart after a similar run to Burke’s, and Barkley’s conversion tightened up the scoreline.

At 16-15 it looked like we might have another tense afternoon, but once Isaac Feau’nati was driven over by the Bath pack for their third try, again converted, there was no way back for the Falcons.  James Scaysbrook completed the scoring and secured Bath’s bonus point, going over in the left corner after Mathew Tait was left on the wrong end of a 4-on-1.

Our only real penetrations of the Bath half came when Matt Thompson threw a dreadful lineout near the Bath line, and when we received a penalty on the 22 with 10 minutes left.  Burke inexplicably (and to boos from the crowd) kicked at goal, when a penalty wouldn’t even give us a bonus point, but his kick was pulled across the face of goal anyway.

After little injury time Ashley Rowden signalled the end of the match and our second home defeat of the season.

Losing today was a shock after the Northampton performance last week, and since Bath had lost their previous three games.  But whilst last week we proved we are actually a good side, today proved that we are still an inconsistent side who won’t trouble the Premiership’s top 4 come May.

There were some good points, the first half performance and those by Burke, Noon and Tait and Andy Long’s continuing improvement this season.  However, whatever happened at half time today to produce the second half debacle must be sorted, and Matt Thompson’s lineout throwing once he came on was woeful to say the least.

Credit to those players who applauded their supporters after the game.  However, we have now lost the momentum begun last week, and many more performances like this at Kingston Park and there may not be many left to applaud.

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