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LEICESTER TIGERS 28 NEWCASTLE RED BULLS 19
Newcastle Red Bulls suffered PREM Rugby defeat on Friday at a rain-soaked Mattioli Woods Welford road, as Leicester Tigers took all five points.
The hosts led 14-12 at half-time and were a try up inside two minutes when they kicked a penalty to the left corner – Josh Manz scoring from the catch-and-drive with James O’Connor adding the conversion.
Newcastle’s claims for a penalty try were denied by the TMO when Cameron Hutchison’s hack ahead was pulled back for a knock-on in the build-up, but they were on the board on seven minutes when Micky Rewcastle dotted down his first try for the club.
The loose-head prop was on hand to score from a super support line from Rhys Beeckmans’ line-break, despite the torrential rain making handling difficult for both sets of players.
It was no surprise to see tight forward play dominating given the conditions, and the Red Bulls surged into the lead on 14 minutes when repeated red-zone penalties set the stage for Tim Cardall to plough over from a pick-and-go down the right.
Ethan Grayson added the conversion, but Tigers nudged back in front just before the quarter mark when home skipper Hanro Liebenberg repeated Cardall’s trick with a close-range pick from a ruck near the Newcastle posts.
O’Connor’s conversion put Leicester into a 14-12 lead which remained in tact at the interval – Newcastle within a whisker of going in front when Grayson’s long-range penalty attempt hit the crossbar in the dying moments of the half.
The torrential rain eased off fractionally after the break, although the wet ball and slippery under-foot conditions still dictated a tight, territorial game from both sides.
Joe Davis made a welcome return for the Red Bulls when the scrum-half played the last half-hour after coming back from a broken arm and torn hamstring, but his side conceded their third try on 54 minutes when Will Wand darted down the right to slide home.
Newcastle responded just after the hour mark with a scorcher of a third try, Harrison Obatoyinbo jinking past the first man and sprinting 60 metres to the line after Cam Hutchison had collected a Leicester chip and fed the winger.
Grayson’s conversion got the Red Bulls within two, but the four-try bonus point arrived for Leicester shortly after when Australian centre Izaia Perese scored from a chip over the advancing defensive line from a five-metre scrum.
It was to be the last scoring contribution of a gritty contest, with both sides toiling commendably in atrocious conditions.
Leicester Tigers: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Will Wand, 13 Izaia Perese (Wilf McCarthy, 72), 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ryan Crowley, 10 Tom Whiteley, 9 Charlie Bemand (Tom Threlfall, 69); 1 Cameron Miell (Tubuna Maka, 59), 2 Finn Theobald-Thomas (Charlie Clare, 52), 3 Ale Loman (Tonga Kofe, 68), 4 Harry Wells, 5 Tom Manz, 6 Harry Palmer, 7 Josh Manz, 8 Hanro Liebenberg (captain).
Scorers – Tries: Josh Manz, Hanro Liebenberg, Will Wand, Izaia Perese. Conversions: James O’Connor 4.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Nathan Greenwood (Sam Waugh, 55), 13 Rhys Beeckmans, 12 Cameron Hutchison (Max Clark, 66), 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart (Joe Davis, 50); 1 Micky Rewcastle (Connor Hancock, 53), 2 Bryn Gordon (Samson Adejimi, 21), 3 Richard Palframan (Murray McCallum, 50), 4 Tim Cardall (Ollie Fletcher, 71), 5 Finn Baker (Seb de Chaves, 54), 6 Adam Scott, 7 George Bolam, 8 Reuben Parsons (captain).
Scorers – Tries: Micky Rewcastle, Tim Cardall, Harrison Obatoyinbo. Conversions: Ethan Grayson 2.
Referee: Jamie Parr.
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