Newcastle v Northampton: Five takeaways as Fin Smith injury scare takes gloss off Saints grabbing their ‘golden chance’
Fin Smith sustained an injury for Northampton Saints on Friday.
Following a 35-34 victory for Northampton Saints over Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership, here’s our five takeaways from Friday’s clash at Kingston Park.
The top line
English champions Northampton survived an injury scare to star fly-half Fin Smith to finally break their Premiership away-day hoodoo in a thriller under the Friday night lights on Tyneside.
A fortnight before their Champions Cup semi-final at Leinster, the East Midlanders snapped a nine-match, 15-month losing streak on the road in the league with Craig Wright, Luke Green and Will Glister celebrating first Premiership starts with tries.
But there was a moment of major concern for Saints boss Phil Dowson as star fly-half Smith suffered a leg injury scoring his side’s third try and left the field at half-time grimacing and limping heavily.
Smith had been named on the bench to try to protect him ahead of the Leinster clash but the best laid plans were wrecked by an early injury to starting 10, Charlie Savala.
“Just a little whack on his leg, managed to run it off,” said head coach Sam Vesty dismissively after Smith reappeared for the new half, though he continued to limp long into the contest and will, at the very least, be sore tomorrow.
He was still hobbling after the game.
Saints finally end their away day drought?
It is hard to believe the reigning Premiership champions had not won away in the league for so long – January 2024 – given they have also reached two Champions Cup semi-finals in that same period.
This was their golden chance to snap the streak, against opponents they crushed 61-0 in December on a night Falcons director of rugby Steve Diamond admitted his men “were lucky to get nil”.
When they named a makeshift team and conceded the first score to Newcastle‘s top try getter, Jamie Blamire, it was not immediately clear it would happen on this occasion.
And when Adam Brocklebank added a second for a side which has won only twice in the comp anywhere all season, Saints were left wondering whether a 10th straight away league defeat was in fact more likely.
Happily for them the prop’s try was chalked off by referee Luke Pearce, enjoying yet another excellent game, and Saints quickly cashed in on their good fortune with four tries to bag maximum points by half-time.
No substitute for class
Smith’s arrival after 25 minutes turned the game the way of the visitors, who until then had struggled to contain the men in black.
Brett Connon’s penalty had put Falcons 10-7 ahead and when Alex Hearle chipped and regathered it seemed certain Elliott Obatoyinbo would add to Blamire’s sixth minute try.
CODE SHOCK: Gloucester confirm Christian Wade has quit to join rugby league
But the full-back knocked himself out in a big collision on the try line, left the field as Smith came on, and the England man immediately inspired his team to score three tries in eight minutes.
Newcastle refused to go quietly, Connor Doherty and Hearle bagging third quarter tries.
Although the limping Smith appeared to take the game away from them with a delicious line bust and offload for Saints captain-for-the-night Burger Odendaal to send in Tom James, Falcons finished the stronger – ironically helped by Max Pepper running back a Smith charge-down for Falcons’ fifth try.
Newcastle talk of the Toon
When Falcons beat Exeter in October it ended a run of 25 defeats and gave them their first Premiership win for 581 days. When they followed it up with victory over Saracens in November we wondered if a corner had been turned.
The league table would suggest otherwise, Falcons eight points adrift at the bottom and in line to end a second straight campaign propping up the top flight.
Yet watching them last night there was much too admire. Blamire, an England hooker, now has 12 tries for the season and oozed quality all evening. Hearle was a constant threat, so too Cam Nield, Brocklebank and Ben Stevenson.
Falcons are under-funded, their future massively under threat. Yet Diamond has created a rich spirit in Toon which was there for all to see as they refused to give up the ghost.
Four months after shipping nine tries to Saints and failing to get a single point themselves, the Geordie boys scored the final three tries too secure their first try bonus point at home for two years – and were pushing for the winner when the whistle blew on a 21-phase final play.
Steve Diamond calls for ex-players to become TMOs
Newcastle boss Diamond spent the night in the stands, seated beside his eight-year old daughter for the first game in six he is banned for as punishment for abusing match officials a week ago.
He had already apologised for his “inappropriate” language but was not about to admit he was wrong about his initial grievance, which cost his side a first Premiership away win since 2022.
“The system has to improve across the board,” he told TNT Sports. “It needs more investment, like rugby does across the board completely. Do the TMOs need to be former referees?
“Can they not be players that have just come out of the game? You don’t need to know the law book, you need to know what a forward pass, a knock-on and what foul play is.”
Diamond concluded: “I don’t think anything I said is new, just sometimes somebody has to say it and generally it’s always me.”
