Newcastle Falcons face relegation after 28-19 defeat to Gloucester

Gloucester Rugby 28-19 Newcastle Falcons, Kingsholm
Scorecard

Newcastle Falcons have been relegated from the Gallagher Premiership following their 28-19 defeat to Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm on Saturday.

The Falcons had a season to forget after losing 15 out of the 21 games and have managed just 30 points overall - 10 less than 11th placed Leicester Tigers while Gloucester have sealed the third place as they will face either Saracens or Exeter Chiefs in the play-off.

The Falcons had a brisk start to the game with a try from Michael Young in the 10th minute and Toby Flood followed it with a conversion.

The visitors lost momentum at the start of the second quarter with sin-bins to Toby Flood (22') and Calum Green (32') and despite a try from Sinoti Sinoti, Gloucester looked in firm control of the game with touchdowns from Jason Woodward (23'), Danny Cipriani (29') and Charlie Shaples (34'). Billy Twelvetrees managed conversions on all the three occasions as the teams headed into the break with a 21-12 scoreline.

Newcastle managed their third try after the break in the 57th minute through Jamie Blamire that followed Lewis Ludlow's sin-bin as the gap came down to two points but Matt Banahan scored the decisive try in the 62nd minute as the Cherry and Whites completed a 28-19 bonus point victory to consolidate their third position.