La Rochelle end Newcastle Red Bulls' Challenge Cup run

Newcastle Red Bulls 18-26 Stade Rochelais, Kingston Park

Newcastle Red Bulls bowed out of the EPCR Challenge Cup at the round-of-16 stage after a hard-fought 26-18 defeat to La Rochelle at Kingston Park.

In foul, windy conditions, the home side battled strongly and were level early in the second half, but a late penalty from Diego Jurd and a final-play try from Nolhann Couillaud sent the French side through to the quarter-finals.

Newcastle Start Brightly At Kingston Park

The Red Bulls made the stronger start and immediately put La Rochelle under pressure. Alex Hearle’s powerful run carried Newcastle deep into the visitors’ 22, and from the resulting pressure Brett Connon opened the scoring with a penalty from 30 metres out.

Newcastle continued to defend well during the opening quarter, shutting down a dangerous La Rochelle maul after the visitors kicked to the corner. But the French side found a way back into the contest in the 22nd minute when Ihaia West was awarded a try after winning the race to a bouncing grubber behind the line.

La Rochelle then moved further ahead through Jules Favre, who finished in the right corner after a long pass created space out wide. Their third try followed from a clever line-out move, with hooker Gabin Garault getting over to give the visitors control of the match.

Obatoyinbo And McCallum Bring Newcastle Back

Newcastle found a lifeline before halftime when West was shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball tackle after an Oli Spencer break. From the resulting pressure, Elliott Obatoyinbo crossed on the right after a looping pass from Connon, cutting the deficit to 15-8 at the break.

The hosts then made the perfect start to the second half. Replacement prop Murray McCallum made an immediate impact, charging through from distance, stepping the last defender and scoring beneath the posts. Connon converted to level the game.

The fly-half then added another penalty on 55 minutes to put Newcastle back in front and raise hopes of a famous home win.

Late Jurd Penalty Breaks Newcastle Hearts

The momentum shifted again just before the hour mark when Fergus Lee-Warner was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle. La Rochelle took advantage and Jurd slotted a penalty to bring the scores level at 18-18.

He later struck the post with a longer-range attempt, but with just three minutes remaining he made no mistake from in front of the posts, putting La Rochelle back ahead at the key moment.

Newcastle pushed hard in the final stages, but with the last play of the match Couillaud crossed to remove any remaining doubt and seal a 26-18 win for the visitors.