Late surge from Falcons steal the show from Ford and Rokoduguni

Newcastle Falcons 24-22 Bath Rugby, Kingston Park
Scorecard

Newcastle Falcons scored two tries in the final 10 minutes to come from behind and defeat Bath Rugby by 24-22 in a thrilling Aviva Premiership clash at Kingston Park on Friday.

Wing Vereniki Goneva got Newcastle Falcons off the mark with a try in the second minute while fly-half Joel Hodgson added the conversion to secure a 7-0 lead.

England international George Ford provided some respite for Bath as he scored a penalty in the extra minute of first half to reduce the trail by four points.

A combination of Ford and wing Semesa Rokoduguni took Bath into clear advantage at the start of the second half.

A converted try from Ford and back-to-back tries from Rokoduguni in the 52nd and 61st minute took Bath to 22 points.

The Falcons were trailing behind by 12 point heading into the final 10 minutes and that's when Mark Wilson and Ben Harris strolled past the post in the 71st and 76th minute respectively while a double conversion from Hodgson ensured a two-point win for Newcastle Falcons.

Newcastle Falcons have now moved to the sixth position in the table while Bath have slipped to the fourth position.

Newcastle Falcons rugby director Dean Richards had high praise for his team.

"The boys had belief and really stuck at it.

"We went 12 points down and just went for it. They showed a lot of courage to do that and come back against a side like Bath.

"The crowd were outstanding, especially that last five minutes, the players came in afterwards and said the crowd carried them through."