Newcastle Falcons secured their first Premiership victory of the 2022/23 campaign by beating Bristol Bears 30-15 in an entertaining game at Kingston Park on Saturday.
Mateo Carreras led the way for the home side by scoring two tries while George McGuigan Connor Collett also came through the blank. Their other points came via the boot of Tian Schoeman, who netted two penalties and a few conversions.
For Bristolunbeaten before that encounter, Henry Purdy and Richard Lane scored tries while AJ MacGinty added a penalty and a conversion.
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Bristol looked to open the scoring in the 10th minute, only a final tackle from Matias Orlando preventing MacGinty from going under the posts. However, the Bears were awarded an offside penalty and MacGinty managed to easily score three points.
The Falcons stormed off and were held back inches from the try line before earning a penalty of their own. They opted for the five-yard scrum and their effort was rewarded with Carreras entering the corner after Schoeman had launched a long pass to the left.
Ed Holmes was sent to the trash for a cheap shot on 20 minutes as Newcastle turned the screw. It didn’t take long for the advantage to work in their favor as Collett waltzed in from five yards out to extend the lead. Schoeman failed to add the extras to either of his team’s first two tries.
Kyle Sinckler was penalized in a scrum for not driving straight and an easy kick was disallowed in favor of a corner kick. McGuigan snuck in a pick and called the lineout before Schoeman split the posts.
The Bears started the second half on the front foot and spent the first five minutes inside Newcastle territory. However, a succession of penalties resulted in Collett spending 10 minutes in the trash. Within a minute, the Falcons lost Sean Robinson – again for near-line violations.
Bristol Strikes Back
The power play ultimately worked in favor of the Bears, with Purdy passing into the corner. MacGinty sent his conversion attempt away from the post.
Bristol then grabbed their second try of the half as Lane crashed out with Newcastle still down to 13 men. MacGinty added the conversion to bring the visitors within a score, with 21 minutes remaining.
Schoeman calmed home nerves with a penalty before hitting the post of another long-range penalty five minutes from time. The loose ball was not recovered cleanly by Bristol and they eventually conceded another penalty, but this time in their own 22. Schoeman made no mistake from 15 yards out to take away the losing bonus point for Bristol.
Newcastle sealed the try bonus with the clock in the red as Carreras showed his wheels to race for his second try. Schoeman added the conversion to put a bit more shine on the score.
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