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Newcastle 29 Bath 12: Furious Todd Blackadder blasts 'pathetic' display after emphatic loss to Falcons

Zach Mercer is tackled by Jon Welsh and Calum Green - Getty Images Europe
Zach Mercer is tackled by Jon Welsh and Calum Green - Getty Images Europe

An irate Todd Blackadder described his side’s lacklustre performance against Newcastle as “pathetic” after an emphatic loss at Newcastle. “I can only apologise for a poor performance,” said the Bath director of rugby. “We let the supporters down. They deserve better than that. That was a pathetic performance.”

It’s difficult to disagree given how comfortably the home side dispatched Bath, with man-of-the-match Toby Flood expertly pulling the strings. Their bonus-point win sees them move above Sale Sharks, who lost to Saracens, and Bath themselves, into fifth place.

Not that Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards was entirely satisfied. “It was a good night’s work and we’re delighted with the five points, but the boys aren’t happy with conceding two soft tries,” he said. “We never really got out of second gear but it’s the first time in 20 years that we’ve done the double over Bath. At times we looked exceptionally good, and we’re close to letting rip and turning in the performance we want.”

Newcastle’s first try came after just five minutes and started with a neat offload from tighthead Jon Welsh to centre Josh Matavesi. It was completed with a sharp flying finish in the corner from Sinoti Sinoti, with Flood adding a touchline conversion.

Bath are notoriously slow starters, but bad soon went to worse when Flood waltzed through Ben Tapuai’s attempted tackle, the Falcons stand-off scuttling over before converting his own try.

Bath’s propensity for giving away silly penalties hindered their attempts to get back into the game and five minutes before half-time proved their undoing when wing Aled Brew put his knee into Micky Young’s back after the Falcons skipper fell on loose lineout ball. It was the seventh penalty conceded by the visitors but their first yellow card. From the resulting penalty, Flood kicked to the corner and hooker Kyle Cooper was driven over, making it 21-0 at the break.

Bath started the second half with renewed purpose, and almost immediately registered their first points courtesy of three remarkable pieces of skill. The first came from Freddie Burns, who threw an outrageous long pass to full-back James Wilson, who offloaded beautifully out of the tackle to Cooper Vuna, the wing topping it off with a remarkable flying touchdown in the corner despite being hammered by two tacklers.

Cooper Vuna score a spectacular try in the corner - Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Cooper Vuna score a spectacular try in the corner Credit: GETTY IMAGES

When Burns kicked the conversion from the touchline it looked as if a contest might break out, a notion quickly extinguished when Falcons wing Nikki Goneva charged down the touchline and through three would-be tacklers to secure the bonus point.

Bath had the final say with an injury-time try from a lineout drive, but these are heady times at the Premiership’s most northerly outpost. It speaks volumes for Newcastle’s ambition that their next home game is at St James’s Park against Northampton.

Match details

Scorerstry Sinoti 5-0; con Flood 7-0; try Flood 12-0; con Flood 14-0;  try Cooper 19-0; con Flood 21-0; try Vuna 21-5; con Burns 21-7; try Goneva  26-7; Flood 29-7; try Perenise 29-12. 

Newcastle Falcons A Tait; V Goneva, C Harris (M Mermoz, 64), J Matavesi (J  Hodgson, 64), S Sinoti; T Flood, M Young (capt (S Takulua, 70); R Vickers  (S Lockwood, 64), K Cooper (S Lawson, 72), J Welsh, C Green, W Witty, E  Olmstead, N Latu (C Chick, 70), A Hogg. 

Bath J Wilson; A Brew (J Williams, 70), W Hurrell, B Taupuai, C Vuna; F  Burns (J Lewis, 72), K Fotuali’i (C Cook, 53); L Noguera (N Charles, 51 (R  Batty, 65), R Batty (B Obano, 51), M Lahiff (A Perenise, 61), J Phillips  (L Douglas, 61), E Stooke, M Garvey (capt), P Grant (J Bayliss, 57), Z  Mercer. 

Referee Matthew Carley.  

Attendance 7,062.