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Northampton survived a late scare to snatch a narrow 35-34 victory over Newcastle at Kingston Park.
A thrilling encounter saw Craig Wright cancel out Jamie Blamire’s opening try and after Brett Connon sent the Falcons ahead again from the tee, Northampton seized control just before half-time with Luke Green, Fin Smith and debutant Will Glister all scoring.
Connor Doherty pulled one back for Newcastle after the break and although Tom James struck for Saints, tries from Alex Hearle and Ben Stevenson dragged the hosts back into the contest. Max Pepper scored the Falcons’ fifth try to threaten a late comeback, but Northampton managed to hold on and end their three-game losing run in the Premiership.
Saints made 14 changes to their starting lineup from the weekend’s Champions Cup win over Castres, but were handed an early blow as Newcastle went ahead six minutes in when Murray McCallum slipped through the visitors’ defence and offloaded to Blamire on the left, who crossed before Connon converted. Northampton soon levelled after a good spell of pressure on the Newcastle tryline and some smart passing allowed Wright to burst forward and score his first Premiership try, with Rory Hutchinson adding the extras.
Connon kicked Newcastle back in front with a penalty and after an impressive buildup through the phases, Callum Chick’s try was chalked off following a TMO review. Hearle then chipped the ball over the Saints’ defence before chasing it down and a quick move reached Elliott Obatoyinbo but the full-back was denied following a big tackle in the right corner.
Pepper came on to replace Obatoyinbo and Saints then appeared to have struck, but Wright’s try was ruled out. The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game when a quick switch in play towards the right allowed Green to touch down for his maiden Premiership try and Smith kicked the conversion.
Northampton piled on the misery for Newcastle just before the break with two tries in quick succession when Smith squeezed through a gap before converting his own effort and Glister kicked a loose ball and chased it down to bag the bonus point, with Smith’s kick successful. The Falcons pulled one back just two minutes into the second half when a fast break reached Doherty on the left to cross in the corner. Connon’s conversion attempt curled wide of the upright.
Tom Litchfield had a try disallowed by the television match official for a forward pass but Northampton soon extended their advantage when James sprinted ahead to ground underneath the posts and Smith added the extras.
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Newcastle continued to fight back and after a good set of phases, Hearle charged over the line on the left before Connon converted. Ben Stevenson then dived over in the left corner to pick up a bonus point and with four minutes left on the clock, Pepper latched on to a loose ball and surged forward from inside his own half to ground. Connon’s conversion reduced the gap to one point but Saints withstood some late pressure to snatch victory.
Smith, who had begun the game on the bench, was introduced in the 23rd minute after an injury to fly-half Charlie Savala and spent much of the game hobbling after sustaining a bow to his leg while scoring Northampton’s third try. However, his head coach, Sam Vesty, said: “Just a little whack on his leg, managed to run it off.”
