Van der Walt helps Newcastle end 25-match losing streak

PREMIERSHIP SATURDAY WRAP: Newcastle earned their first Premiership victory in over a year after beating fellow strugglers Exeter 24-18 at Kingston Park.

The Falcons went into Friday’s clash without a win since March 2023 but brought their 25-game losing streak to an end with a hard-fought victory.

Despite falling behind to an early Chiefs try, Newcastle responded with tries from Philip van der Walt and two either side of the break from Jamie Blamire.

Ethan Grayson’s second-half drop goal gave the Falcons some breathing space before Josh Hodge scored a late try for Exeter, but the Falcons held on for a long-awaited triumph.

Exeter took the lead just four minutes into the match after a quick move from the line-out saw them comfortably switch the ball across to the right flank, where Immanuel Feyi-Waboso dived over the line to score. Hodge was unable to convert.

Newcastle looked to threaten deep inside Exeter territory and, after a flurry of line-outs, they got their first try of the evening when Van der Walt managed to break through the Chiefs’ defence and reach over the line to ground the ball. Grayson added the conversion.

Fullback Hodge restored the Chiefs’ lead with two penalties in quick succession, but the Falcons piled on the pressure and did well to recover the ball from an overthrown line-out, although the resulting move saw Sam Stuart’s try disallowed.

However, Blamire scored their second try of the night when the hooker tapped a quick penalty before storming over the line and Grayson converted.

Exeter continued to be frustrated as they struggled to build moves and were then handed a blow when Richard Capstick was sent to the sinbin just before the break.

A scrappy start to the second half saw Newcastle kick their way into Exeter territory and begin to threaten with some promising breaks.

They got their reward, scoring from a line-out, with the Falcons breaking away into a quick driving maul and Blamire edging over the line, with Grayson adding the extras.

Hodge tried to put some points back on the board for Exeter, but his long-range kick flew wide of the posts.

Newcastle passed the ball well across the pitch and provided a huge test of the Chiefs’ defence before Grayson kicked a drop goal to extend their lead further.

Exeter pushed for a late comeback in the final stages and Hodge crossed in the left corner before converting his own try with two minutes to go.

However, the Falcons were able to see the game out and celebrate a win at long last.

*In Friday’s other match, Northampton bounced back from their derby disappointment in style as they trounced Sale 47-17, with Ollie Sleightholme scoring two of their seven tries.

Where Northampton were wasteful in defeat at Leicester last Saturday, they were lethal against the Sharks at Franklin’s Gardens, where they crossed six times in the first half.

It also meant their winning run at home will now extend beyond a year, with Saints racking up an 18th consecutive victory on their own patch on a night Sale will want to quickly put behind them.

Sale were forced into a late change on their left wing with 20-year-old Alex Wills coming in for Tom O’Flaherty, who had a hamstring injury, to make his first Premiership start.

See below for Friday’s scores and scorers!

Newcastle Falcons 24-18 Exeter Chiefs

The scorers:

For Newcastle:
Tries: Van der Walt, Blamire 2
Cons: Grayson 3
DG: Grayson

For Exeter:
Tries: Feyi-Waboso, Hodge
Con: Hodge
Pens: Hodge 2

Yellow card: Richard Capstick (Exeter, 35′)

Teams:

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 John Hawkins, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Adam Scott, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Alex Hearle, 23 Cameron Hutchison.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Olly Woodburn, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Sam Maunder, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Franco Molina, 4 Rusi Tuima, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Greg Fisilau, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Ben Hammersley.

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Dean Richards

Northampton Saints 47-17 Sale Sharks

The scorers:

For Northampton:
Tries: Freeman, Furbank, Sleightholme 2, James, Hendy, Ramm
Cons: Smith 6

For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Cowan-Dickie, Carpenter
Cons: R du Preez 2
Pens: R du Preez

Yellow card: Alex Wills (Sale Sharks, 18′)

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (captain), 14 George Hendy, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Tom James, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Chunya Munga, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Josh Kemeny, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 James Ramm.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (captain), 6 Tom Curry, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Si McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 James Harper, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Luke James.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Simon Harding
TMO: Rowan Kitt