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NEWCASTLE RED BULLS 12 SARACENS 35
Saracens took the spoils from Friday’s rain-soaked PREM Rugby Cup encounter at Kingston Park as the pool stage resumed for its second block.
The Londoners led 14-7 half-way through a game dominated by the weather, making Newcastle’s chances of semi-final qualification all the more difficult as they turned the screw after the break.
Sarries made much of the early running and opened the scoring on nine minutes when Harry Wilson scored from a close-range pick and go between the posts, Newcastle old boy Louie Johnson adding the simple conversion.
The Red Bulls by this stage were down to 14 men with Nathan Greenwood in the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, but they were making the visitors work as Cameron Neild pilfered a jackal turnover to halt another attack from the Londoners.
Newcastle made their momentum count and drew level on 19 minutes, Max Clark the scorer as the centre hit a crash-ball line from five metres out and drove through the attempted tackle to dot down.
Boeta Chamberlain slotted the conversion from the right despite a stiff cross-wind, his side having to re-shuffle their pack as early injuries saw Neild and Freddie Lockwood depart the field.
Eighteen-year-old debutant George Bolam was among those called into the fray, his side holding up Saracens over the try-line after a thumping tackle from Chamberlain.
The visitors fired wide with a long-range drop-goal in a sign of their growing frustration at a dogged Newcastle defence, which once again rose to the occasion with a try-saving tackle when the visitors attacked down the right two minutes before the break.
But there was no stopping Sarries with the very last play of the half when scrum-half Charlie Bracken collected an inside pass from a line-break down the left to score their second try, Johnson’s conversion putting them into a 14-7 half-time lead.
They added another seven to their tally less than a minute after the resumption when simple hands along the line set the stage for full-back Angus Hall to cross for a converted try in the right corner.
Sarries’ four-try bonus point arrived just before the hour mark when No.8 Nathan Michelow barrelled over, and it was quickly followed by their fifth when replacement scrum-half Gareth Simpson was rewarded for his support line by a try between the posts.
Greenwood went close for Newcastle when Sam Stuart’s cut-out pass almost saw him diving in at the right corner, but the winger got his score just a minute later when Sam Waugh’s line-break and pass freed the winger for a run-in down the right.
It was to be the last points of the night as both sides emptied their benches - Newcastle travelling to Leicester next Friday to keep their cup hopes alive.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain (Sam Stuart, 62), 14 Stefan Coetzee (Harrison Obatoyinbo, 56), 13 Max Clark, 12 Rhys Beeckmans, 11 Nathan Greenwood, 10 Cameron Hutchison (Sam Waugh, 56), 9 James Elliott; 1 Connor Hancock (Micky Rewcastle, 45), 2 Bryn Gordon (Fraser Renwick, 45), 3 Luan de Bruin (Richard Palframan, 49), 4 Tim Cardall, 5 Finn Baker, 6 Reuben Parsons (captain), 7 Cameron Neild (George Bolam, 14), 8 Freddie Lockwood (Seb de Chaves, 19).
Scorers – Tries: Max Clark, Nathan Greenwood. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain.
Saracens: 15 Angus Hall, 14 Finn Keylock, 13 Alex Lozowski (Luke Davidson, 65), 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Brandon Jackson, 10 Louie Johnson, 9 Charlie Bracken (Gareth Simpson, 51); 1 Phil Brantingham (Alex O’Driscoll, 59), 2 James Hadfield (Eoghan Clarke, 49), 3 Tietie Tuimauga (Harvey Beaton, 49), 4 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Olamide Sodeke (Tayo Adegbemile, 38), 6 Harry Wilson, 7 Charlie West, 8 Nathan Michelow (captain).
Scorers – Tries: Harry Wilson, Charlie Bracken, Angus Hall, Nathan Michelow, Gareth Simpson. Conversions: Louie Johnson 5.
Referee: Richard Gordon. Attendance: 6,305.
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