Former England 10 the difference as Falcons win relegation dogfight

Ex-England fly-half Toby Flood scored 12 points to inspire Newcastle Falcons to their first home win since November as the Premiership’s bottom side beat fellow strugglers Worcester Warriors 17-6 at Kingston Park.

The Falcons started the day nine points adrift of Worcester in the table but first-half tries from Zach Kibirige and Flood helped close the gap to five points as they boosted their survival hopes.

Flood, who won 60 caps for England between 2006 and 2014, converted both of those scores and also slotted over a 14th-minute penalty.

Worcester’s only points came from the boot of Duncan Weir and they were unable to produce a comeback after the interval, with no points scored in the second half.

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Newcastle had been beaten in each of their previous four home games in all competitions since beating Bath in November, yet they went ahead early on, Kibirige picking up a loose ball and bursting through a gap in the middle of Worcester’s defence to dot down.

Weir scored two penalties either side of a three-pointer from Flood, who then went over from close range before extending his side’s lead to 11 points with a successful conversion.

Kibirige was denied a second score by the TMO having lost the ball in the act of scoring after collecting his own kick, yet Newcastle would see out the win.

Another angle on that trademark try from Toby Flood pic.twitter.com/gnAZYFhrRE

— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) March 3, 2019