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Newcastle earned their first Gallagher Premiership victory in over a year after beating fellow strugglers Exeter 24-18 at Kingston Park.
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The Falcons went into Friday’s clash without a win since March 2023 but brought their 25-game losing streak to an end with a hard-fought victory.
Despite falling behind to an early Chiefs try, Newcastle responded with tries from Philip van der Walt and two either side of the break from Jamie Blamire.
Ethan Grayson’s second-half drop goal gave the Falcons some breathing space before Josh Hodge scored a late try for Exeter, but the Falcons held on for a long-awaited triumph.
Exeter took the lead just four minutes into the match after a quick move from the lineout saw them comfortably switch the ball across to the right flank, where Immanuel Feyi-Waboso dived over the line to score. Hodge was unable to convert.
Newcastle looked to threaten deep inside Exeter territory and, after a flurry of lineouts, they got their first try of the evening when Van der Walt managed to break through the Chiefs defence and reach over the line to ground the ball. Grayson added the conversion.
Full-back Hodge restored the Chiefs’ lead with two penalties in quick succession, but the Falcons piled on the pressure and did well to recover the ball from an overthrown lineout, although the resulting move saw Sam Stuart’s try disallowed.
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However, Blamire scored their second try of the night when the hooker tapped a quick penalty before storming over the line and Grayson converted.
Exeter continued to be frustrated as they struggled to build moves and were then handed a blow when Richard Capstick was sent to the sin bin just before the break.
A scrappy start to the second half saw Newcastle kick their way into Exeter territory and begin to threaten with some promising breaks.
They got their reward, scoring from a lineout, with the Falcons breaking away into a quick driving maul and Blamire edging over the line, with Grayson adding the extras.
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Hodge tried to put some points back on the board for Exeter, but his long-range kick flew wide of the posts.
Newcastle passed the ball well across the pitch and provided a huge test of the Chiefs defence before Grayson kicked a drop goal to extend their lead further.
Exeter pushed for a late comeback in the final stages and Hodge crossed in the left corner before converting his own try with two minutes to go.
However, the Falcons were able to see the game out and celebrate a win at long last.
Louis Rees-Zammit joins Jim Hamilton for the latest episode of Walk the Talk to discuss his move to the NFL. Watch now on RugbyPass TV
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