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George McGuigan and Sean Robinson notched a brace apiece as seven-try Newcastle ran riot at Kingston Park, overpowering London Irish 52-27.
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Louis Schreuder, Ben Stevenson and Tom Penny also went over for the hosts, while Brett Connon kicked 17 points in the Falcons’ first win in seven Gallagher Premiership matches.
Tom Parton, Ben Loader and Motu Matu’u touched down for Irish.
The visitors led after a simple switch facilitated an overlap and Parton was able to go through a gap to score on six minutes. Paddy Jackson hooked his kick to the left of the post.
The Falcons levelled up with their first visit to the Irish 22, McGuigan crashing over after a quick penalty. Connon had the simple task of adding the extras from in front of the posts to make it 7-5.
The hosts’ advantage was extended on 31 minutes after a line-out straight off the training ground, with Robinson piling over the whitewash. Connon successfully added the conversion from tight to the touchline.
Jackson kicked a penalty for the visitors just inside the 22 in front of the posts with three minutes of the first half remaining after Newcastle had been penalised for not rolling away in the tackle.
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With the clock in the red Loader scored his fourth try in five games after Irish had created space on the right, with Jackson dabbing the kick through for the winger to race on to. Jackson kicked the conversion.
The Falcons came out of the blocks fast in the second half, with Schreuder darting through to go under the posts after a deft offload from Callum Chick. Connon again had the simplest of conversions to put Newcastle back in front.
McGuigan grabbed his second of the game after another line-out, taking advantage of the extra man with Irish’s Curtis Rona in the sin-bin. The throw was collected by Mark Wilson and the ball moved back to the hooker to pile over, with Connon kicking the extras.
Newcastle grabbed their third 14 minutes after the interval as Stevenson used his pace and power to evade Parton before diving in at the corner. From almost the same position as the previous kick, Connon added his fifth conversion.
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Irish hit back straight away through Phil Cokanasiga as they built a series of phases, and the centre was able to get in on the left wing. Jackson made no mistake to make it a seven-point score.
Connon continued his perfect kicking afternoon as he knocked over a penalty from 40 metres.
Irish scored a try from their own line-out routine on 65 minutes, with replacement Matu’u going in down the 5m channel. Jackson saw his conversion attempt cannon back off the post.
With little under 10 minutes remaining, Penny scored in the left corner after a period of sustained pressure, with Wilson popping a pass off the floor to set up the chance. Connon added the two points.
Two minutes were left on the clock when the Falcons added a seventh, with their offloads working wonders and Robinson grabbing his brace. Connon made it seven conversions to seal an emphatic bonus-point win.
