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Seven-try Leicester hand Newcastle a 24th straight league defeat
By PA
Leicester Tigers scored seven tries to heap more misery on a struggling Newcastle Falcons side as they earned a 42-10 win at Kingston Park. After a scrappy opening, the Tigers began to apply pressure and took a 20-3 lead at half-time before earning the bonus point after the break.
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Newcastle scored their first try when Leicester received two sin bins, but the visitors exerted their strength with a further three tries to bag a second win this season. The result handed the Falcons their 24th straight defeat in the Gallagher Premiership and they remain bottom of the table.
Leicester were without head coach Michael Chieka due to a one-match ban and the game was tied early on thanks to penalties from Jamie Shillcock and Ethan Grayson. The Tigers slowly began to build pressure and despite some solid defending from the Falcons on their own try line, a quick switch saw Shillcock offload to Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left flank to cross in the corner before the former added the extras.
Spurred on by their opening try, Leicester struck again five minutes later when another great pass from Shillcock played Anthony Watson in on the right for the wing to charge into space and touch down in the corner.
Shillcock missed the conversion before Newcastle burst into action with some good work to build the phases in midfield, but they struggled to gain any ground and after opting to kick a penalty, Grayson’s attempt whistled just wide of the uprights.
Leicester added their third try on the cusp of half-time after Emeka Ilione bundled the ball over the line on the left to earn his first Premiership try, but Shillcock was unable to extend their lead from the tee. The restart was then delayed due to a medical incident involving a fan during a half-time race down the pitch between supporters.
Leicester quickly picked up where they left off just three minutes into the second half when a quick pass from Joseph Woodward allowed Freddie Steward to crash over the line and earn the bonus point.
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The visitors were suddenly down to 13 players after Watson was shown a yellow card and he was shortly joined by Hanro Liebenberg following a clash of heads with Kiran McDonald, who was replaced by Pedro Rubiolo. Newcastle took advantage and after some pressure on the try-line, Callum Chick eventually broke through to score their first try of the game on his 150th appearance for the club before Grayson converted.
The Falcons then had Jamie Blamire sent to the sin bin for a high tackle and Leicester quickly extended their lead when George Martin powered over the line in the right corner, with Shillcock converting for a 32-10 lead. Newcastle’s afternoon soured further when a loose pass was easily intercepted by Will Wand and he burst forward to ground in the corner before the Tigers added their seventh try through Liebenberg.
A dream debut ?
Will Wand scores on debut for his boyhood club ?
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