Sep 08 Newcastle v Sale

Close But No Cigar


It was never going to be the walk in the park that some had dared to predict: even I was feeling buoyant and a little overly optimistic, forecasting a 12 point victory. Mind you, had Tom May not smashed Spud into touch with that try-saving tackle just before half time, I might’ve been on a winner. The bottom line is that we finally broke the Kingston Park hoodoo and got the victory that’s eluded us for the last 16 years. Points, as Hughie Green often repeated, mean prizes. Granted not many Sharks fans left Newcastle salivating at the spectacle they’d just witnessed but, I for one was prepared to cut the boys some slack, after all, it was the first game of a new season, with new rules and a glut of new players. So I drove home feeling relatively chuffed, but with a slight sense of regret that we hadn’t been able to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

The drive up to the north east on the Saturday was ‘entertaining’: it’s not often you get the chance to plough through rivers that had sprung up where once tarmac had stood; but, rugby’s rugby and we had to get there. It didn’t matter that I felt more like Noah than Nelson Piquet: we were on a mission. Given Saturday’s monsoon and the heavy north east rain on the morning of the game, you have to say that the Kingston Park ground staff did a remarkable job. The ground wasn’t the quagmire we had all foreseen – in fact it looked incredibly lush, and really only began to cut up at the set piece. It was all set up for a running, if slightly damp, game of open, running rugby, and on paper at least, our International backline had the edge. Sadly, we don’t play the game on paper and have to settle for nature’s alternative.

The first 5 minutes were nervy, with neither side wanting to over-commit or make the first mistake. From the kick off the Falcons launched the ball into Sale’s 22 and that’s pretty much where it stayed until the players got their sea legs. The ELVs were obviously playing their part: gone was the option of launching the ball into Row Z to clear the pressure. In stead the ball was hoofed up field, only for a new Falcons attack to be launched. In the face of this, Sale’s defence was, as you’d expect, resolute and you could see that they were not in the mood to let the opposition get even a sniff of the try line. No one exemplified this ‘no way, José’ attitude more than Corcho Lobbe, the new Club captain: his drive, determination and leadership on the pitch will serve the team well over the course of the next few months.

The first hint of what the new-look Sale backline could potentially achieve came from Doherty. Following a half break from Peel and a lovely floated pass from Charlie, Doc chipped the ball up the right wing and gave chase. He’s a real speedster in the Stan mould and could well prosper as the season progresses if the team play with their heads up. He managed to somehow pick the ball up off his bootstraps and offload to, Schoey of all players; how on earth he managed to keep up with him I’ll never know, but can only surmise that pre-season training worked wonders. Sadly the ball was knocked on and the threat was temporarily quashed.

The writing on the wall was clear none the less. The Falcons were standing off Charlie for some unknown reason giving him time and space. Whether this was a conscious ploy, or just down to rustiness, was difficult to tell, but it was a dangerous tactic. When Sale started to move the ball at pace and switch directions and run the angles, Newcastle looked all at sea. It was difficult to tell where the threat was likely to come from, with Charlie, Peel, Big Mac, Cueto, Doherty and Tait all taking advance attacking positions.

It looked inevitable that the breakthrough would come sooner rather than later, and it did thanks to a lovely interchange of passes between Charlie and Peel, and a deft shimmy from the fly half who found his opposite number, new boy Rory Clegg, woefully exposed and out of position. Charlie had support from both Seabass on his inside and Doc on the flank, but needed neither as he stepped inside the desperate lunge of May and sprinted over to dab the ball down in the corner. He didn’t manage to convert, even though the infamous KP wind wasn’t swirling as it normally does, but you got the feeling that the Sharks had got the measure of the Falcons and would start to turn it on from there on in.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen. Both teams opted to either hoik the ball in to the air and hope for the opposition to make a mistake or stick with the reliable, but dull tactic of picking and going. Neither side made too much headway in either department. McAlister converted a relatively straightforward penalty after a Falcons’ offside and young Clegg responded with a penalty for the Falcons after Schoey was caught offside. What the game was calling out for was an injection of pace and a bit of variety, but for some reason or other it didn’t come. Newcastle had the edge in the scrum and by and large, Sale seemed to boss the line out with both Briggsy and Jones earning their corn.

Sale conceded another penalty for an infringement at a defensive ruck, after Seabass had called the mark in his own 22, and surprised the crowd, and I suspect himself, by clearing to touch with his left foot and making good distance. The ball broke down during the resultant maul and was turned over. Clegg converted the penalty with a little help from the upright, and it seemed to spur on the Falcons who increasingly began to take the game to Sale. This obviously created some space and Peel and Charlie were the first to take advantage of this. All the action was drawn over to the left flank until Peel switched play and Charlie floated the ball out to Thomas. He spotted Tait on the overlap. It looked odds on that Spud would mark his Sharks’ debut with a try as he steamed towards the corner, but Tom May had other ideas. He clattered into Spud on the 5 metre line taking both man and ball into touch, with a tackle that was reminiscent of Hernandez’ smash of Tuilagi in last year’s Heineken Cup. From the expression on May’s face there was a great sense of satisfaction in smashing his former colleague and obviously a little unfinished business.

The first half petered out with little other of note except a McAlister conversion after Chris Jones had been taken out when trying to steal a Falcons line out. Big Mac converted and the sides went in for the break with Sale leading by 5 points. Kingston Park was eerily quiet and you could sense both sets of supporters were expectant and waiting for things to catch light in the second half. Sadly they didn’t.

Newcastle learned from their loose play in the first half and pushed up, giving neither Charlie nor Big Mac any space or time. They still opted for the high ball, but the chasing pack seemed to lack conviction. When they were prepared to chance their arms and run the ball, they looked far more dangerous. Grindall made a nuisance of himself and Rudd, Alex Tait and May looked for any openings. But for a despairing lunge from Thomas who threw himself on the ball on the Sale try line, Newcastle could well have been on even terms.

Sale rarely threatened during the second half, though not through lack of effort. Rather it was the strong and determined Falcons’ defence that held the Sharks at bay. For all the waves of attack, all that Sale could muster was a McAlister penalty after Newcastle were pinged for handling on the floor. He dispatched this as you would expect. He took all further place kicks and restarts as well, leaving the Sale supporters wondering whether Charlie had picked up a knock. If he had, he seemed to shrug it off, unlike Chabal who was a marked man – literally. So much so he had to leave the field after receiving extensive treatment to what looked like a neck injury. He was replaced by Coxy who slotted into the second row with Jonah moving to 8.

Newcastle upped the pressure and momentum and had the Sharks on the back foot for a good 10 minutes, but they couldn’t find a way through the resolute Sale defence. Even when down a man after Abraham had been binned for a late challenge on Clegg, Sale held firm. There were times when the Falcons had a man over, yet they chose to take the ball to ground. Even stranger was the fact that they opted for a drop goal and settled for 3 points, rather than keeping up the pressure when camped in the Sharks 10 metre area. Maybe they too had realised that today the gates had been bolted well and truly and at least that way they got back in losing bonus point range. Who can tell?

As they say, a win’s a win and all that, and we did get the elusive victory and 4 points. At the time it felt like a disappointment as many believed we could’ve put the game well beyond reach had we gone for width and pace. But it wasn’t meant to be. Looking around the other results, we did ok considering no other team managed to get a try bonus point. Maybe the first day blues got to everybody.

What’s important is the away win and a positive start. If we can build on this platform and get the other monkey off our backs by winning at Castle Grim, then I’ll be a happy bunny. You can’t help but want more – something that would really quicken the pulse and excite. Maybe that’s what’s in store for us over the coming months. Who knows? We can all only hope, but on yesterday’s performance, all you can really say is, close, but no cigar.