Falcons scrum Wasps into submission

Newcastle claimed their first ever win at Adams Park and got 2010 off to the best possible start with a scrappy, but well-earned, 12-6 win over London Wasps in their Guinness Premiership clash on Sunday evening.

Both teams made far too many unforced errors in the 80 minutes but, despite that, it was an intriguing match to watch.

The home side got a fantastic start with Falcons centre Tane Tu’ipulotu giving away a penalty from the kickoff – handing Walder the simplest of chances to open the scoring.

Both sides made a couple of early handling errors, setting the tone for the match, but Newcastle quickly found a good tempo and put Wasps under some good pressure inside their 22.

Tu’ipulotu made a half break which almost took the visitors over the before Wasps captain Hart conceded a penalty in front of the posts – 3-3 with just six minutes of the match gone.

The opening 20 minutes was a very interesting battle with the Wasps backline looking far more dangerous than the Falcons line while the visitors were in complete control at the set pieces.

Walder had two long range chances from the kicking tee but, uncharacteristically, was unable to convert either opportunity.

Newcastle loosehead Jon Golding was once again enjoying an impressive evening up front while Samoan No.8  Felipo Levi was a dangerous, combative force for the Falcons. For Wasps Simon Shaw was once again an influential player and Danny Cipriani, playing at fullback, was looking threatening with limited chances.

With half an hour gone Lions legend Shaw forced his way over the line but, after a lengthy TMO adjudication, were not awarded the try thanks to some last ditch work by their captain Carl Hayman.

Despite being on the Falcons’ five metre line again it was the home side who were under pressure at the scrum – Newcastle quickly winning possession back.

The scrum continued to be a serious concern for Wasps with tighthead Ben Broster being penalized almost every time he faced up to Golding. Two of those opportunities saw Gopperth call for the kicking tee with the second, from 46m, giving Falcons a 6-3 lead.

Looking to at least give themselves an even platform at scrum time Wasps introduced new signing Sakaria Taulafo at half time in place of Ben Broster. The Samoan had one shaky scrum early in the half, conceding a penalty which Gopperth slotted over, but otherwise looked very solid for the home side.

The match, while full of endeavor, continued to be riddled with errors and remained very much in the balance over the course of the third quarter. Both kickers, Gopperth and Cipriani (having taken over the responsibilities after Walder was replaced by Mark van Gisbergen) missed chances to add to the respective teams’ scorelines.

With fifteen minutes left in the game Wasps were awarded another penalty and, after some discussion, decided to go for the three points. Van Gisbergen was the man given the opportunity this time and the fullback made no mistake, narrowing the gap to just three points.

Poor control of the restart though quickly put Wasps back under pressure and conceded an untimely penalty. Gopperth, striking the ball with much more confidence now, put Newcastle six points clear again.

Some clever play from the Newcastle kept them camped in the Wasps half and, with five minutes left, the home fans were doing everything they could to try and inspire their troops forward.

To their credit, Wasps responded. Stringing their best set of phases of the match together inside the Newcastle half, Dom Waldouck and Ben Jacobs were starting to find half gaps in the Newcastle line.

Newcastle though were not going to be denied. Defensively Bates’ men were brilliant all afternoon, eating up space and relentlessly making tackles.

With time up on the clock Newcastle lost the ball in a ruck and Wasps sprung back into life. Jacobs stormed down field and looked certain to score but the London club just were not able to find Tom Varndell in space out right for the score.

Tu’ipulotu, as he had done for much of the afternoon, created the final steal for his team, allowing Hall Charlton to clear the ball and give referee Tim Wigglesworth the chance to blow the final whistle.

The Scorers

For Wasps

Pen: Walder, van Gisbergen

For Newcastle

Pen: Gopperth 4

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Danny Cipriani, 14 Tom Varndell , 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Mark Robinson, 8 Dan Ward-Smith, 7 Will Matthews, 6 John Hart (captain), 5 George Skivington, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Sakaria Taulafo, 18 Bob Baker, 19 Marty Veale, 20 Dan Leo, 21 James Honeyben, 22 Ben Jacobs, 23 Mark Van Gisbergen

Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Rob Vickerman, 12 Tane Tu’ipulotu, 11 Charlie Amesbury, 10 Jimmy Gopperth; 9 HalCharlton, 8 Filipo Levi, 7 Brent Wilson, 6 Josh Afu, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 James Hudson, 3 Carl Hayman (captain), 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Jon Golding.
Replacements: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 Micky Ward, 18 Grant Shiells, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Will Welch, 21 Chris Pilgrim, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Tom Biggs.

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth