Falcons can’t hold on to livewire Randall
Newcastle Falcons……….3pts
Penalties: Connon 41
Bristol Bears ………………. 24pts
Tries: Williams 6, Naulago 49, Malins 64, 77
Conversions: MacGinty 51, 65
BRISTOL picked up where they left offf last season, having won seven of their last eight and, although it took time for them to hit top gear, they departedd Kingston Park with a deserved four-try victory.
While his team-mates insisted on throwing chaotic, frantic offloads, Harry Randall delivered a spectacular scrum-half performance which will cause Steve Borthwick to take notice.
Bristol centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg said: “We knew Newcastle away first up was going to be a tough proposition and it was, with them making the contest very scrappy. Credit to the boys for sticking to what we’ve been doing in pre-season to come away with five points.
“We want to continue our momentum from the end of last season. I have a lot of belief in this team and feel we can go all the way.”
In a battle of largely attack against defence, Bristol could have scored more than their four tries if it wasn’t for playing at a relentless pace that led to multiple knock ons forced by Harlem Globetrotter-esque play from the Bears which was often one pass too many.
However, Randall provided consistency, composure and crisp passing, while also proving a constant threat to the Falcons defence with his sniping from the ruck. And his box kicking has advanced to a new level.
Pat Lam‘s side have struggled to find an identity after their semi-final run in 2020 but returned to their free flowing roots from the off, keeping the ball alive by shifting play to their galloping wings Ratu Naulago and Gabriel Ibitoye.
Following Callum Sheedy’s departure to Cardiff, AJ MacGinty is the only senior fly-half in the Bristol squad and he put in a solid performance capped by a late crossfield kick to pick out Max Malins which sealed maximum points.
Falcons losing run in the league extends to 22 matches but it was a classic Steve Diamond performance in his first contest in charge, full of dogged defence with clear standouts in their pack – blindside Freddie Lockwood and lock Kiran McDonald among those who rose to the occasion.
Despite having a willingness to put their bodies on the line, passion and commitment will only get Falcons so far so it’s hard, given a lack of attacking options, to see where Newcastle’s victories will come from this season. Electric wing Adam Radwan was isolated out wide, with very few involvements.
Diamond spoke in pre-season about improving fortunes at Kingston Park but their tryline was breached after just five minutes. The visitors got good field position with the pack and made it count as second row James Dun’s offload put James Williams in to open the scoring.
Newcastle got on the scoreboard when they won a scrum penalty on half-time and Brett Connon slotted it over to make it a two-point game at the break.
Bristol went up a gear in the second half and their attack was a cut above anything Newcastle could offer.
That was underlined in their second try as a dart from Randall put them in range, and it eventually ended with Janse van Rensburg’s flick pass being superbly touched down in the corner by Naulago.
They looked to kill the game off and went through the phases again near the line before Malins attacked it to burst over from five yards, and the full-back rounded off the scoring after plucking MacGinty’s kick pass.
The last time the teams faced off, Bristol handed Newcastle an 85-14 evisceration in April. While this scoreline was certainly more kind to the Falcons, the gulf in quality remains apparent.
