This was an all too familiar tale of woe for Newcastle who now seem doomed to relegation to the Championship, their six-year stay in the Premiership all but over. They briefly threatened a second-half salvo but they were cruelly denied even a losing bonus point by Alex Mitchell’s late intercept try. If there is any solace to take it is that in the long run it is unlikely to matter.
As was the case last time out against Leicester, a sluggish start was costly but take nothing away from Northampton’s swashbuckling approach that yielded a first-half hat-trick for Tom Collins. The upshot for the Saints is that they creep into the top four but for Newcastle, the outlook is bleak. They are still seven points off Worcester in 11th and relegation could be confirmed as early as Sunday. This defeat also ensures safety for Bristol – a feat worth applauding for Pat Lam’s side.
There was no lack of effort by Newcastle in the second half, having gone in 21 points down, but it is hard to recall Kingston Park being as quiet on a Friday night as it was in the opening half. In a must-win encounter Newcastle fell short of the standards required until after the interval, and even then spirit will only get you so far. Inspired by Tane Takulua they fought their back to within seven points but ultimately the damage had been done.
“Mathematically we’ve will got a chance,” said Newcastle’s director of rugby, Dean Richards. “We’ve got to go down to Gloucester and get five points and get five points against Bristol. It is what it is. If Worcester win [on Sunday] and Leicester win on Saturday it’s goodnight us, isn’t it. Had we taken our opportunities against Leicester and Northampton we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about relegation.”
Newcastle struck first with Takulua’s straightforward penalty but Northampton have proven themselves no mugs on their travels this season. They came here having beaten Leicester and Harlequins in their past two away league matches and soon settled into the high-tempo rhythm Chris Boyd has imbued in them.
Before 10 minutes were up Northampton had their first try of the evening when Collins roasted past Toby Flood, carved up the middle and found Cobus Reinach on his inside. He flicked the ball out the back and Collins gathered on the bounce and dotted down. The referee, Luke Pearce, went upstairs, unsure if Reinach’s pass had gone forward, but awarded the try. Dan Biggar converted and added another penalty to give Saints the lead their fast start deserved.
Newcastle were staring down the barrel when Collins added a second – a fine move that began when Reece Marshall offloaded to Taqele Naiyaravoro, who blasted through a couple of tackles before teeing up his fellow winger. Biggar’s conversion was again spot on.
The Falcons could simply not get going and Northampton’s third – again finished by Collins just before half-time – was all too easy. Reinach picked up from the base of the ruck, sped his way down the right and found his winger outside him to run in unopposed. To twist the knife, Biggar again converted to take Northampton’s lead out to 24-3 at the interval.
Hope arrived for Newcastle in the form of Rodney Ah You’s 48th-minute try from close range after Flood’s quick thinking had the home side camped on the Northampton line and Takulua had the Falcons faithful roaring again with 25 minutes to go, after a George McGuigan break.
All of a sudden Newcastle were within seven. Had their lineout been functioning properly they may have trimmed the gap even closer, but Newcastle have rarely made things easy this season. Northampton soon settled and allowed the clock to tick down, Newcastle unable to fashion any clear openings for the crucial next score. Inevitably they began to force things and Mitchell had the final word.
“I thought we were pretty good in the first half and absolutely dreadful for 35 minutes of the second half,” said Northampton’s director of rugby, Chris Boyd. “We’re just happy to come here, get the points we wanted and get on with it.”