Gloucester beat Newcastle in ten try thriller

Rob Cook scored one of Gloucester's five tries and kicked three penalties and three conversions. Credit: David Davies/PA

PREMIERSHIP

  • GLOUCESTER 40 - 33 NEWCASTLE FALCONS

Full-back Rob Cook scored 20 points for Gloucester but Newcastle showed that sides should never give up as they grabbed two crucial Aviva Premiership bonus points at Kingsholm.

Cook scored one of Gloucester's five tries and kicked three penalties and three conversions as the Cherry and Whites cruised to a 30-point lead at one stage.

Flanker Sione Kalamafoni, lock James Hudson, centre Mike Tindall and wing Jonny May got the others but Newcastle, whose only scores in the first half were a Chris Yorke try and a Phil Godman conversion, turned the game on its head after the break.

Tries from replacement hooker George McGuigan, flanker Andy Saull, full-back Alex Tait and wing Noah Cato plus three conversions by replacement Joel Hodgson gave them a try bonus point and a losing bonus point as they went down 40-33.

Gloucester did not do themselves any favours when Hudson was sin-binned early on as he illegally ploughed into the back of a Newcastle attacking ruck 10 metres out.

But the Falcons failed to take advantage of their one-man advantage and instead, Gloucester took the attack to the north east outfit

It paid off when captain Tindall refused a relatively simple penalty kick from 25 metres and instead ordered fly-half Ryan Mills to go for touch. From there, big flanker Kalamafoni was stopped under a ruck a metre short but was able to stretch his arm out and touch the ball over the Newcastle line.

Newcastle huffed and puffed while Hudson served his sentence but poor handling and a resourceful defence kept them out until finally Yorke made the breakthrough after a long pass right found the back row in space to jog over unopposed.

Godman's conversion levelled the match but it did not last long as the Cherry and Whites struck just before the half-hour when Cook finished off a sweeping move inside the Newcastle 22 to dive over triumphantly, adding the extra points himself.

And, when Newcastle infringed just outside their own 22, Cook took the penalty kick option this time and extended the Gloucester lead to 10 points at the break.

Newcastle's chances of getting anything from the match, even a losing bonus point, were looking grim just 10 minutes into the second period as another Cook penalty and then a charge-down try from Hudson, which Cook converted, took the lead to 20 points.

It was one-way traffic as Newcastle were denied possession and struggled to get out of their own half, let alone into scoring positions.

Tindall's try, after being set-up by Cook, gave Gloucester their bonus point, before the full-back also delivered the final pass for England ace May, just back from England Six Nations duty, to score a peach of a touchdown.

It was all going perfectly for Gloucester but suddenly the match was turned on its head. The Cherry and Whites lost their composure and Newcastle made them pay with a vengeance.

The Falcons whittled a 30-point deficit down to just 11 points within nine minutes as McGuigan, Saull and then Tait went over for tries. The full-back's touchdown, as he evaded some loose defence to score, gave the Falcons a try-bonus point.

A mistake just outside the Newcastle 22 saw Cook land his third penalty as Gloucester hit 40 points but right on time, wing Cato went over on the right and, with Hodgson's touchline conversion, the Falcons gained that valuable second bonus point.