Six-try Harlequins top Premiership after brushing aside Newcastle

Louis Lynagh capped his 50th club appearance with a try as Harlequins put Newcastle Falcons to the sword in a six-try, 40-12 Gallagher Premiership victory.

Winless Falcons dominated the early stages but trailed 21-0 at half-time after tries from Sam Riley, Dino Lamb, Nick David, and a perfect kicking display from Jarrod Evans.

Captain Alex Dombrandt and wings Lynagh and Tyrone Green then crossed to secure the bonus point and lift Quins to the top of the table, while a penalty try and a Jamie Blamire score gave the Falcons something to show for their efforts.

Falcons had earlier made a very promising start, nearly scoring off the first 22 entry of the match before the returning Matias Moroni was bundled into touch.

Fly-half Rory Jennings then had a golden chance to open the scoring with a penalty from in front of the posts but he fired wide much to the amusement of a sold-out Twickenham Stoop.

He then compounded a poor start by kicking dead with Falcons again in possession deep inside the Quins half, as the visitors’ strong opening amounted to nothing.

They were punished for their profligacy when hooker Bryan Byrne was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on just 16 minutes into his first league start for the Falcons. From the resulting lineout, a catch-and-drive set up hooker Riley for his first league try since March.

It was another unlikely scorer who grabbed Quins’ second, as a succession of offloads allowed flanker Lamb to slide in between the posts on 25 minutes.

Newcastle kept threatening and a break from Mateo Carreras nearly led to their first try but he was thwarted by the recovering David before Lennox Anyanwu made a vital turnover.

Quins’ offload game was a strength all afternoon and carved Falcons open for a third try on the stroke of half time, as Dombrandt popped onto David, who arrived like a steam train to muscle his way over.

Quins signalled their intention of putting the game to bed early in the second half, opting for a scrum after winning a penalty in front of the sticks.

The bonus-point try followed just a few phases later, as Dombrandt gathered an offload from two metres out to touch down.

A fifth Quins try arrived four minutes later, as Lynagh, who had earlier led the team onto the pitch, dived acrobatically into the left corner after some quick hands.

Falcons pulled one back through a penalty try but Quins came again, with a sublime diving finish from Green after an inch-perfect cross-kick from replacement Marcus Smith on his return from international duty.

Hooker Blamire crossed for the final score of the game, but the Falcons stayed rooted to the bottom of the table after a fourth defeat.

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