PICTURE SPECIAL: Sorry Saints slump to first home defeat in two years
Northampton Saints 13 Newcastle Falcons 19
Northampton Saints failed to make it two years unbeaten at Franklin's Gardens as Newcastle ended their run after 29 games.
A shocking opening 15 minutes cost Saints their first home defeat since March 3 2007.
Saints were 19-0 down after just 11 minutes as Newcastle steamed over a home side seemingly still hiding under the morning duvet.
Newcastle ran in three tries, with former All Black Carl Hayman at the heart of it.
Hayman put the squeeze on a defensive Saints scrum to win a free-kick in the opening minutes and the visitors went for a scrum again.
Hayman wheeled it nicely for No.8 Adam Balding to burst off the back. Chris Ashton did well to stop him five metres short, but with no forwards defending the blindside former Saint Jon Golding was driven over. Tom May badly missed the conversion to leave Newcastle 5-0 in front after six minutes.
And four minutes later Newcastle scored a superb try from their 22. Scrum-half Micky Young threw a big booming pass to the wing and Newcastle motored up field, with Jamie Noon cutting inside off the left wing before May spotted Danny Williams all alone on the opposite wing and kicked to him for an easy score. May got the conversion this time to give the visitors a shock 12-0 lead.
And astonishingly Newcastle scored their third try in 11 minutes when Courtney Lawes dropped a pass on halfway and May weaved his way under the posts. He converted to make it 19-0 and leave the home crowd stunned.
A punch drunk Saints finally roused themselves to win a penalty in Newcastle's 22, but Stephen Myler's sudden bad form continued as he missed a sitter from 20m.
It went from bad to worse when Roger Wilson was taken off after 25 minutes.
Saints battered the Newcastle line, but desperate defence kept them out. Myler got some confidence by knocking over a penalty right in front at least to make it 19-3.
The bad start whipped up a frenzied response from Saints, but desperate Newcastle defence kept them out until just before the break quick passing along saw Paul Diggin cut inside to score. The come back was on. Myler's kicking at last looked assured to convert the try with 30 seconds of a tumultuous half left.
It was a bad start to the second half as Saints lost their own lineout and scrum and then Brett Sharman gave away a penalty, but May missed from 35m.
Myler missed a penalty from 48m in reply.
The game went scrappy for much of the second half and the expected come back so often seen over the last two years never materialised.
The introduction of half-backs Barry Everitt and Alan Dickens with 15 minutes to gave Saints an extra spark and they won a penalty 20m in front of the posts to Everitt slammed it over to reduce the arrears to six with six minutes to go.
It gave Saints a chance but the home side's efforts were summed up as their chances of a last-gasp try was halted by a knock-on to end the game and the long unbeaten run.
Att: 12,908
Saints: Reihana, Ashton, Mayor (Ansbro 55mins), Downey, Diggin, Myler (Everitt, 67mins), Dickson (Dickens, 66mins), Tonga'uiha, Sharman (Shields, 64mins) Stewart (Smith, 57mins), Day (Rae, 64mins), Kruger, Lawes, Best, Wilson (Hopley, 25mins)
Replacements: Shields, Smith, Rae, Hopley, Dickens, Everitt, Ansbro
Newcastle: Tait, Williams (Visser, 40mins), Noon, Tu'ipulotu, Rudd, May, Young (Charlton 67mins), Golding (Wilson, 64mins), Vickers (Thompson 52mins), Hayman, Swinson, Parling (Sorenson 52mins), Dowson, B Wilson, Balding (Winter 47mins)
Replacements: Thompson, D Wilson, Sorenson, Winter, Charlton, Miller, Visser
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Friday 10 February 2012
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