Newcastle, Sharks battle out a tough draw
Newcastle struggled through a tough match and battled back to a draw at last. Newcastle earned a late draw of 19 - 19 with Sharks in a testy affair. Match was dominated by kicks and in the first half, the honours were shared by the fly halves Jimmy Gopperth
and Charlie Hodgson of Newcastle and Sharks respectively.
Alan Tait, the director of rugby for Newcastle said, “I did think the game had gone at 19-9 so I have to be happy we got back to 19-19.”
Sisa Koyamaibole’s try was apparently a Knock-on but it was awarded as Hodgson added another penalty. Gopperth was storming that day and pushed Falcons back to a seven points deficit. Tim Swinson smashed into the opposition to level the scores again with
just three minutes left in half time.
Newcastle Falcons made a brisk comeback into the game and were rewarded when Sharks’ skipper James Gaskell was punished by Gopperth for coming in from the side. Sharks’ innovative pick up earned them a penalty in first ten minutes of the second half after
Newcastle breached on their line.
The hosts regained their lead with Gopperth’s penalty which was a result of Kyle Tonetti’s upending of Tane Tuipulotu. Tonetti toppled over the tackle and caught referee’s attention. Newcastle went offside at a ruck and Sharks were awarded a penalty. Sharks
took the lead for the first time in the match with the help of Hodgson’s long-range drop goal.
Later in the match, the heat was rising as many off the ball incidents were witnessed. Swinson was sin – binned for not turning over the tackle and this is when both of the sides were charged up. Newcastle held their own in scrum and fabricated the first
chance of the match, when a break from the base saw James Hudson go over. A splendid try-saving tackle by Hodgson saved the day for them.
Swinson came back in the match later on. A penalty by Gopperth ensured that the scores are level again at 9 – 9. Five minutes after the second half, Nick Macleod crossed the line due to the skillful work with the ball in midfield. But it was denied by the
referee Tim Wigglesworth when he spotted a forward pass.
Falcons were sparked back into the game when the exceptional Jeremy Manning counter attacked the Sharks’ defense. The effort was then negated or to be precise, butchered. Koyamaibole jumbled over the first try of the match, in the first 15 minutes of second
half. The video replay, which was unseen by the referee showed that the ball was knocked on in contact in last but one phase.
Boos were echoing in the crowd at Kingston Park, but they were silenced by Hodgson who executed a conversion and added another penalty for the Sharks to give them a ten points. Scores were 19 – 9 now and the Falcons were on the verge of losing. Gopperth
won three points for Falcons with another penalty while the clock was ticking towards the finishing stages.
Newcastle Falcons were now getting desperate and pushed Sale Sharks back in their half. After winning another penalty, Falcons decided not to take points and take the line out instead. It was a clever decision by the captain and eventually Swinson stormed
through the exhausted Sale’s defense near the posts. Gopperth added a few extras to finish this tense game into a draw.
Hodgson tried a drop goal from halfway to grab the victory but the effort was few yards shorter to the target. He was awarded as Man of the Match.
Alan Tait said, “We do have quality players and I hope this draw and way we came back will kick-start our recovery.”
Alan added that there is a plenty of talent in the team and he won’t try to panic the players. He humbly said, “There's nothing to be gained from panicking.”
Dave Thompson, the owner and chairman of Falcons was angry on the referee’s decision and expressed himself openly.
He said, “It was a disgraceful decision. There was a blatant knock-on and I'm considering making a formal complaint.”
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