Newcastle Falcons 8-28 Northampton Saints
The win sees Saints leapfrog London Irish into second place
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Friday, 27, Nov 2009 09:12
Chris Ashton scored a hat-trick to help Northampton Saints pick up a 28-8 victory against Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.
Shane Geraghty kicked the rest of the visitor's points with Tom Biggs touching down for the Falcons.
The hosts made one change from the side that won 15-11 at London Irish last Sunday with Biggs replacing Danny Williams on the left wing.
For the Saints, England internationals Dylan Hartley, Geraghty and Courtney Lawes came back into the side that beat Harlequins at Franklins Gardens last Saturday.
Ashton and Biggs each touched down in the first half as the sides went in tied at 8-8.
Two more Ashton tries and two penalties from Geraghty in the second half secured Saints' victory which sees them move ahead of London Irish into second place.
It was Saints who were first on the scoreboard when Geraghty punished a sleeping Falcons defence by taking a quick tap penalty and sending Ashton over in the corner on eight minutes.
The hosts cut the gap to 5-3 soon after as Gopperth, who kicked all his side's points against the Exiles last week, slotted a penalty.
The Falcon's hard work was undone immediately however as Geraghty restored the three-point advantage after Newcastle were penalised at the breakdown.
In the final ten minutes of the first period Newcastle pushed for a try to bring the scores level and were rewarded after a period of pressure in the Saints 22.
A move that went from right to left found its way to Biggs who finished well in the corner. Gopperth was unsuccessful with his conversion and the sides went into half-time locked at 8-8.
Seven minutes into the second half and Northampton were ahead once more as Ashton showed the Falcons defence a clean pair of heels as he ran in his second try of the night.
Geraghty was on target with the conversion to give his side a 15-8 lead.
The home side's task was made all the more difficult 15 minutes into the second half as scrum-half Micky Young was sent to the sin bin for deliberately killing the ball with Saints threatening a third try.
The fourteen men were immediately on the back foot and trailed by 13 points with ten minutes to go as Geraghty struck two more penalties to put the game beyond Newcastle.
Newcastle went on the offensive to try and earn a bonus point but their gung-ho approach was punished and Ashton ran in his third try. Geraghty's conversion made the final score 28-8.
Elsewhere, Willie Walker's late penalty earned Worcester their second 12-12 draw in a week against Saracens at Sixways.
The result puts an end to Saracens perfect start to the season though they remain unbeaten and on top of the Guinness Premiership.
Worcester were dogged and determined in defence, albeit against a lacklustre Saracens side, and move above Gloucester into eighth.
Worcester took the game to the league leaders in the opening period and held a deserved 9-3 lead thanks to the boot of Willie Walker.
Derick Hougaard kicked Saracens 12-9 ahead after the break before Walker's fourth penalty earned his side a deserved draw.
Worcester were unchanged from the side that battled to the same result against Bath last Friday whilst Saracens welcomed back England captain Steve Borthwick to the second row.
A Pat Sanderson inspired Worcester frustrated the league leaders in the opening 20 minutes and took a shock lead when Walker notched a thirteenth minute penalty.
Despite Derick Hougaard restoring parity four minutes later Walker again nudged his side ahead with his second penalty midway through the half.
If they didn't already know they were in a game they surely did with half-time approaching as Walker's third penalty of the night doubled Worcester's lead at 9-3.
Into the second half and Saracens looked a shadow of the side that had recorded eight wins out of eight in the league but did reduce the gap to 9-6 as Hougaard landed his second penalty of the night on 53 minutes.
Those three points seemed to give the visitors confidence and Hougaard added two more penalties in the 57th and 60th minutes to give his side the lead for the first time at 12-9.
Worcester refused to buckle and drew level with seven minutes remaining with Walker kicking his fourth penalty to earn a point for the hosts.
The night's other fixture between Sale Sharks and London Wasps was postponed after heavy rainfall had made the Edgeley Park pitch too dangerous to play on.
Tom Powell