By Leipziger
September 1 2013

 The Falcons ended pre-season with a defeat to Edinburgh in Hawick on Friday night, in a match that provided some answers but provided questions too ahead of the start of the Premiership season this coming Friday.

Despite scoring the only try of the evening in front of an (alleged) crowd of over 4,000 at Mansfield Park, the Falcons were beaten 15-5 thanks to the boots of Edinburgh half-backs Greig Laidlaw and Piers Francis.

Andy Saull wore a Falcons shirt for the first time in a starting lineup that also included fellow new signings Fraser McKenzie, Danny Barnes, Phil Godman and Mike Blair, and an all-new front row of Franck Montanella, Scott Lawson and Kieran Brookes.

Godman, playing against his former team, missed an early penalty in front of the clubhouse end of the ground, as darkness quickly descended over Hawick and the floodlights began to look a little inadequate. As it turned out, enough light was provided to keep the game going.

Blair showed a lot of speed around the breakdown and looked to get the backs going quickly, and Godman knocked a ball through towards the line for Danny Barnes and Ryan Shortland to chase but the Kiwi-born Irishman was blocked and Edinburgh managed to clear up.

Edinburgh were first on the scoresheet through a penalty from Laidlaw, who soon doubled the Scots’ lead.

Blair then made a great break from halfway but could not quite outrun the home defence and was tackled when he hesitated on the 22.

Injuries to Scott Lawson and Will Welch forced the Falcons to bring on Matt Thompson and Mark Wilson, and though Wilson showed a lot of energy around the field, the lineout seemed to go a bit to pot once Lawson departed the field. Why, only the players and management will know, but as has been said it is worrying if we are going to start throwing long balls five metres out from the opposition line.

Jamie Helleur pounced on a loose ball in the 22 but was unable to capitalise and just before the break Laidlaw kicked his third penalty to give Edinburgh a 9-0 lead after 40 minutes in which they had dominated possession, but not looked really looked like scoring a try in the face of a determined Newcastle defence.

The run of play reversed in the second half as the Falcons laid siege to the Edinburgh line at the open end of Mansfield Park. Shortland, probably (or probably not) took my advice and pinned his ears back on the left to steam towards the line – the only problem in this case was that he headed into two defenders and ignored Tom Catterick on his shoulder.

Catterick himself looked to have scored in the far left corner but knocked on just over the line, but the try finally came in the same area of the field from Godman, who dived into the corner for the score but failed to convert.

At 9-5, the Falcons seemed to have their tails up and Godman went for a drop-goal, but missed. Montanella, who had an impressive game, almost scored a second try when three defenders were needed to stop him getting over the line from a tap five metres out.

Edinburgh came back into the game however and the Falcons’ discipline deserted them, allowing Francis to knock over two penalties that the Geordies could not find an answer to, despite throwing on another raft of replacements including Adam Powell, Joel Hodgson and new signing Dominic Barrow.

The Scottish side saw out the win and number eight David Denton was deservedly named man of the match following a performance that saw him drive Edinburgh forward with ball in hand and make numerous tackles when his team were under pressure. It was the first time I’ve seen this guy play live but I can see why he has been getting good reviews.

Dean Richards will be pleased with the Falcons’ defence during the first half in particular, and the clean sheet in terms of tries, though the lack of a killer instinct in the second half when we were on top will no doubt be a point to address. Communication and nous in the lineout may also be on the list for this week ahead of the season-opening clash with Bath at KP.

But there were strong performances from several players, notably Godman, Blair, Montanella, Wilson, Ally Hogg and Scott MacLeod, and overall the Falcons were competitive against an Edinburgh team that are no mugs. Now it’s time to take on the big boys in England and though we won’t win the league, we also have nothing to fear.