Home
NEWCASTLE RED BULLS 25 GLOUCESTER 19
Newcastle Red Bulls started the calendar year with a victory, winning their first Gallagher PREM game of the season against second-bottom Gloucester.
It took a tense finish to get the result across the line, with the men from the West Country mounting a concerted late assault on the Newcastle try-line.
The home side led 15-5 at half-time having repelled the early danger, Gloucester kicking a penalty to the left corner only to have their maul halted at source.
There was no stopping Newcastle from a similar position on seven minutes, however, when skipper George McGuigan ploughed over for a try at the back of an unstoppable drive, scoring against his former club.
Brett Connon added the conversion from wide out, and the sides were reduced to 14 men apiece for ten minutes when Jamie Hodgson and Arthur Clark were shown yellow for a midfield scuffle.
Connon boomed the resulting penalty to the left corner, and the Red Bulls reached double figures when Tom Christie scored from the back of another rampaging maul.
Gloucester hit back on 22 minutes when a midfield line-break saw winger Ollie Thorley played in for an unconverted try down the right, and it was scrappy from there up until the break.
Christian Wade did his best to spark the home attack into life with a couple of bursts down the right, with Elliott Obatoyinbo probing the left.
But a penalty from Connon in front of the posts was the only additional score before the interval – the fly-half chipping over the simple three after the visitors’ midfield defence strayed offside.
A power-packed start to the second half saw Newcastle adding to their lead through Simón Benítez Cruz, the Argentina scrum-half grabbing his first try in Red Bulls colours as he stepped the last man to dot down in front of a jubilant South Stand.
Connon added the conversion, and his side enjoyed an extra man for the next 20 minutes when Ollie Thorley was red-carded for a head shot from the re-start.
The fly-half added another three to the tally via a simple penalty from in front, his side earning prime field position through Obatoyinbo’s piercing run down the left.
The Cherry and Whites got themselves back into the contest around the hour mark when scrum-half Mikey Austin darted in from 40 metres out for a converted try, Ross Byrne adding the extras.
And the tension rose even further eight minutes from the end when the TMO awarded another Gloucester try from a close-range pick and go.
But the men in black had enough to close out the result, with 8,375 supporters cheering them all the way.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson (Boeta Chamberlain, 56), 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz (James Elliott, 72); 1 Murray McCallum (Luan de Bruin, 72), 2 George McGuigan (captain, Ollie Fletcher, 72), 3 Richard Palframan (Connor Hancock, 72), 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 6 Tom Gordon, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow (Amanaki Mafi, 50, Finn Baker, 72).
Scorers - Tries: George McGuigan, Tom Christie, Simón Benítez Cruz. Conversions: Brett Connon 2. Penalties: Brett Connon 2.
Gloucester Rugby: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Jack Cotgreave, 13 Will Knight (Josh Hathaway, 56), 12 Seb Atkinson (captain), 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Mikey Austin; 1 Val Rapava Ruskin (Ciaran Knight, 59), 2 Will Crane, 3 Afo Fasogbon (Jamal Ford-Robinson, 59), 4 Freddie Thomas, 5 Arthur Clark (Cam Jordan, 55), 6 Deain Gwynne (James Venter, 62), 7 Lewis Ludlow, 8 Jack Clement.
Scorers - Tries: Ollie Thorley, Mikey Austin. Conversions: Ross Byrne 2.
Referee: Christophe Ridley. Attendance: 8,375.
READ MORE
