Newcastle Falcons Defeat Saracens, Ascend From Premiership’s Bottom Position

Newcastle Falcons have achieved victories in five of their last six matches across all competitions. In the Gallagher Premiership, Newcastle defeated Saracens with a score of 17-12, moving them from the bottom of the league standings. This win, secured by tries from Hearle and Radwan, two conversions and a penalty from Connon, marked their first triumph over Saracens since 2009. Saracens’ points came from tries by Elliott and Willis, with a conversion from Burke. This victory allowed the Falcons to surpass Exeter Chiefs, representing their second win in three competition games. Alex Hearle and Adam Radwan contributed tries, complemented by seven points from Brett Connon’s kicking, as the team secured its fourth consecutive win at Kingston Park. Saracens registered tries early through Tobias Elliott and later via Tom Willis; however, these efforts were insufficient to avert their third league defeat in four matches. Despite the loss, they maintained their fourth position in the standings and earned a losing bonus point. The visiting Saracens concluded the match with 14 players after Hugh Tizard received a red card for an infringement on Sammy Arnold, specifically for entering a ruck from the side. Saracens were missing four England internationals—Red Rose captain Jamie George, their own captain Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, and Nick Isiekwe—all of whom had participated in England’s victory over Japan just five days prior. Nevertheless, Theo Dan, a member of England’s autumn squad, proved to be an effective substitute for hooker George. He demonstrated his capability with an impressive surge of speed through the midfield, contributing to the play that culminated in Elliott’s corner try, his fourth in the competition this season. This Falcons team, however, displayed a marked improvement compared to their recent performances. Bolstered by breaking their 25-game Premiership losing streak last month against Exeter and achieving three consecutive wins in the Premiership Rugby Cup, they managed to reverse the game’s momentum by halftime. Demonstrating strong competition in the forwards, they also exhibited an offensive edge in the backline. Winger Hearle executed an unstoppable run at speed to score a try. Shortly after entering the game as a replacement for full-back Ethan Grayson, Radwan seized an anticipated opportunity, scoring his first Premiership try of the season in the corner. In addition to their 12-point lead at halftime, the weather conditions shifted to the Falcons’ advantage, with rain creating the challenging Kingston Park environment that consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond had previously mentioned. The visiting team found it difficult to build momentum for a potential comeback, encountering a highly motivated and increasingly confident home side. This was demonstrated by hooker Jamie Blamire’s precise kick to clear their territory after Saracens had lost possession in the attacking half, followed by Radwan’s try-saving tackle on replacement Tom Parton. Mark McCall’s team eventually scored in the second half when Willis powered over in the 78th minute. However, they were unable to advance from their own half again, as Newcastle concluded a streak of 24 consecutive league defeats against Saracens, a run that had extended since February 2009. Tizard received a red card after the Television Match Official determined that his challenge on Arnold, which necessitated the Irish centre being carried off the field, warranted a sending off. Arnold himself was issued a yellow card. Newcastle is set to carry this newfound confidence into the Challenge Cup next weekend. Meanwhile, Saracens will aim to reassemble their England international players before their initial Champions Cup match against the South African team, Bulls. Steve Diamond, Newcastle Falcons’ consultant director of rugby, commented to BBC Radio Newcastle: “I asked the lads to put us in the shop window and they did it last week against a very strong Sale side and we got our first chance back in the league, and I think we left 10 points out there.” He added: “We’re going to have a great night tonight, we’ve got three days off and we’ve chartered a jet to go to Pau.” Diamond further stated: “We’ll go straight in and straight out and we’re going to have a go at that competition as well.” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall informed BBC Sport: “Newcastle were better organised than we were, they were better coached than we were and they thoroughly deserved to win the match.” McCall explained: “We had 14 players away playing in various parts of Europe while Falcons had their whole squad together for the last four weeks.” He continued: “That was always going to be a bit of an advantage but it shouldn’t have been the advantage it turned out to be tonight. “We still had a lot of good experienced players playing tonight, but we weren’t anywhere near good enough.” The Newcastle lineup included: Grayson; Stevenson, Arnold, Hutchison, Hearle; Connon, Stuart; McCallum, Blamire, Palframan, Van der Walt, De Chaves, Lockwood, Gordon, Chick. Replacements were: Fletcher, Rewcastle, Hancock, McDonald, Leatherbarrow, Pepper, Spencer, Radwan. Arnold received a sin-bin in the 79th minute. Saracens’ team consisted of: Daly; Elliot, Lozowski, Tompkins, Segun; Burke, Van Zyl; Carre, Dan, Balmain, McFarland, Tizard, Gonzalez, Knight, Willis. Substitutes were: Hadfield, Mawi, Riccioni, Wilson, Michelow, Simpson, Spink, Parton. Tizard was sent off in the 79th minute. The match referee was Matthew Carley.