Tigers try-fest in Newcastle


BackTry

By Gaz
October 3 2004

Tigers Vs Newcastle, billed as the first meeting between England's World Cup winning captain and the man who, if certain sections of the media are to be believed, won the World Cup single handed. (Or is that single footed?).

Good attacking play from Tigers quickly took play into the Falcons' 22. A chip ahead from Broadfoot was pounced upon by Murphy to open the scoring inside 2 minutes. Broadfoot added the conversion. Falcons 0 Tigers 7. Newcastle mounted an attack of their own, however several phases of attack failed to penetrate Tigers'22. Falcons05002
An infringement at a lineout by Tigers allowed Wilkinson to kick for touch, bringing play inside Tigers' 22 for the first time. Newcastle drove hard at Tigers, however a Stirling defensive effort saw Newcastle held up over Tigers' try line, as confirmed by the video ref.

The resultant 5m scrum yielded a penalty for Newcastle, however Wilkinson failed to kick the points. Play soon went the length of the pitch, with an attacking scrum on Newcastle's 5m line.

Ellis tried to go from the base of the scrum, but was quickly bundled into touch. A Newcastle attack followed, with Wilkinson giving a sublime pass to put Stephenson over for a try, converted by Wilkinson. Falcons 7 Tigers 7. Broadfoot added a penalty a few minutes later. Falcons 7 Tigers 10.

Tigers won a penalty, from which a lineout was gained near Newcastle's try line. Tigers started a maul from the lineout, whilst Corry & Charvis took a step to one side, and engaged in a gentlemanly discussion on the match so far.

Referee Maybank decided that it might be best if both players retired to the touchline for 10 minutes to consider their opinions more fully. Maybank clearly felt that Corry had the better of the discussion, awarding a penalty to Tigers, with a scrum being the preferred option.

The pack marched triumphantly towards the try line, only to be stopped by the Falcons' front row standing up. A penalty try was awarded, with Broadfoot adding the extra 2 points. Falcons 7 Tigers 17.

Tigers won a penalty from the kick-off, from which Broadfoot attempted a long range shot at goal, which was unfortunately unsuccessful. Just before half time, Maybank was asked to explain the difference between a charge down and a knock on - being unable to do this, play continued with Falcons being awarded a penalty, from which Wilkinson failed to score. Half Time - Falcons 7 Tigers 17.

Newcastle scored the first points of the second half with a Wilkinson penalty. Falcons 10 Tigers 17. Tigers hit straight back with a penalty from Murphy. Falcons 10 Tigers 20.

Falcons05031

 Tigers turned over the ball after a Newcastle scrum, and kicked into space towards the Newcastle try line. A poor clearance kick set up an attacking run from Corry, who sold a dummy on his way to setting Rabini up for his now obligatory try. Falcons 10 Tigers 25.
Once again, Tigers stole Newcastle ball, this time from a lineout, however a good opportunity went begging after Smith kicked directly to touch from just outside Tigers' 22. A wonderful penalty kick from Murphy gave Tigers line out on Newcastle's 5m line.

The trademark catch and drive sent Neil Back over the line for the bonus point try - Tigers' 4th successive try bonus point - equalling the record for try bonus points in consecutive games Falcons05038

Murphy added the conversion. Falcons 10 Tigers 32. A Newcastle line out in the Tigers' 22 saw some fine passing, sending the ball the width of the pitch, culminating in a try for Matthew Tait. Falcons 15 Tigers 32.

Tigers attacked straight from the kickoff, winning a penalty on Falcons' 5m line, with Tigers opting to take a scrum. One scrum led to another, and another, then Corry crashed over for Tigers' 5th Try. Falcons 37 Tigers 15.

Yet more pressure from Tigers allowed Rabini to score his 2nd try after a superb piece of handling.

Murphy converted. Final Score - Falcons 15 Tigers 44 Gaz's man of the match - Martin Corry.

To summarise, a fine performance from Tigers, handling with ease the Newcastle players who posed the most threat. Or, as Tigerchick put it - "Jonny who?"

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