Falcons break their drought
Noah Cato's second-half try handed Newcastle Falcons their first win in 21 Premiership games as they defeated Exeter Chiefs 29-24 at Kingston Park.
The winger cantered over in the 69th minute to nudge his side into a crucial lead after tries either side of the break from Sinoti Sinoti and Tom Catterick had kept the home side in touch against the Chiefs.
Thomas Waldrom opened the scoring for the visitors as early as the fourth minute with Ben White and Henry Slade adding further scores before the break but with Gareth Steenson off target from the kicking tee, missing all three conversions, they could not find the win.
Meanwhile in the other Premiership match on Sunday, Tom Brady scored a late try to ensure Sale Sharks got back to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Wasps.
Steve Diamond's troops had only won once – in Round Two at home to newly-promoted London Welsh – prior to the clash against the Londoners at the AJ Bell Stadium but Brady's effort four minutes from time eased any nerves.
First-half tries from Tom Arscott and Chris Cusiter had given the hosts 12-7 half-time lead, and while Wasps rallied they found the Sharks too eager.
All of Sunday's scores and scorers:
Newcastle Falcons 29-24 Exeter Chiefs
The scorers:
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Arscott, Cusiter, Brady
Cons: Cipriani 2
Pen: Cipriani
DG: Cipriani
For London Wasps:
Tries: Hughes, Wade
Cons: Goode 2
Sale Sharks: Luke McLean, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Mark Easter 7 David Seymour, 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Eifion Lewis Roberts, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Viliami Fihaki, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Cueto.
London Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Chris Bell, 11 Will Helu, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Andrea Masi, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Robin Goodliffe, Paul Burton
TMO: Keith Lewis
Sale Sharks 25-14 London Wasps
The scorers:
For Newcastle Falcons:
Tries: Sinoti, Catterick, Cato
Con: Socino
Pens: Socino 4
For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Yeandle, White, Slade
Pens: Steenson 3
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Noah Cato, 10 Juan Pablo Socino, 9 Ruki Tipuna, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Calum Green, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Kieran Brookes.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 19 Josh Furno, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Mike Blair, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Tom Catterick
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Tom James, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Ben White, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Don Armand, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Moray Low, 19 Ryan Caldwell, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Chrysander Botha.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant Referees: Roy Maybank, Paul Dix
TMO: David Grashoff
