Toby Flood's late score edges Newcastle to victory over Sale
Toby Flood’s last gasp try saw Newcastle Falcons edge to a 15-13 Gallagher Premiership win over Sale Sharks at Kingston Park.
In a tale of two halves, Newcastle were better in the first as Sale never really troubled the try line until the final 10 minutes – a combination of stubborn Newcastle defence and needless penalties preventing the visitors from threatening.
The Falcons led through the boot of Brett Connon and a try from Sean Robinson but the Sharks gradually clawed their way back into the game in the second half as AJ MacGinty kicked a couple of penalties before Cobus Wiese scored in the corner.
But, with the Sharks having to only see out one final attack, they suffered heartbreak as Flood scored to send Dean Richards’ men top of the table.
Connon opened the scoring as he slotted an early penalty to put the Falcons into the lead.
George McGuigan then came close to scoring the first try at Kingston Park in the Premiership since May 2019, when he tapped a quick penalty five metres out but could not dot down with the ball knocked on as the line beckoned.
The hosts continued to pen the Sharks in their own half and the try that they merited arrived in the 36th minute when Robinson burrowed over the line after a period of sustained pressure to give them a 10-0 half-time lead.
Daniel Du Preez had moments earlier been sent to the sin-bin after referee Wayne Barnes lost patience with Sale for a series of infringements on their line.
A pair of MacGinty penalties got the Sharks onto the board early into the second half.
The first half had been free flowing but the second half could only be described as attritional as both sides contested the ball in the middle third of the pitch.
But the Sharks crucially edged in front in the final nine minutes as they spread play from left to right and quick hands allowed Wiese to dot down in the corner, MacGinty adding the extras from tight to the touchline.
The home side had the opportunity to draw level in the late stages of the game but elected to kick to the corner instead of the points and Sale did well to smother the attack and win the ball back, denying the Falcons.
The penalties that ravaged Sale in the first half had been the downfall of Newcastle in the second half as they gave up possession too cheaply.
However, in a dramatic finale, Richards’ side turned the game on its head after the clock had ticked over into the red.
Flood got on the end of a pinpoint chip to score in the corner and give Newcastle a dramatic victory.
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Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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