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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.
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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.
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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.
"Ultimately we want to win the World Cup. That is the main goal but for this week we just need our attack to be good enough for the game"#AutumnNationsCup #WALvENG ???????https://t.co/a5o9hz8Ii2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 27, 2020
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.
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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.
Comments on RugbyPass
A distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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