Newcastle secure first win with tense Gloucester victory

Newcastle Red Bulls 25-19 Gloucester, Kingston Park

Newcastle Red Bulls opened the calendar year by claiming their first Gallagher PREM win of the season, edging past Gloucester in a tense contest at Kingston Park.

Backed by a crowd of 8,375, the home side showed composure under late pressure to see out a hard-fought victory.

Gloucester threatened early, kicking a penalty to the corner, but Newcastle’s defence halted the maul. The hosts then struck from a similar position on seven minutes, with captain George McGuigan powering over at the back of a driving maul. Brett Connon converted from wide out to give Newcastle early control.

Tempers flared soon after, with both Jamie Hodgson and Arthur Clark shown yellow cards following a midfield scuffle. Newcastle continued to dominate the set-piece, and another penalty to the corner led to Tom Christie scoring from the back of a second maul to extend the lead making it 12-0.

Gloucester responded on 22 minutes when a midfield break sent Ollie Thorley over in the right corner, but the conversion was missed. Connon added a penalty before the break after an offside infringement, sending Newcastle into half-time with a 15-5 advantage.

Newcastle began the second half with renewed power. Scrum-half Simón Benítez Cruz marked his first appearance on the scoresheet, stepping inside the final defender to score in front of the South Stand. Connon converted to make it 22-5 and shortly Thorley was sent off for a high tackle.

Connon kicked a penalty goal to stretch the gap to 20 points but Gloucester refused to fade and struck back through Mikey Austin, who finished a long-range break, with Ross Byrne converting. A second Gloucester try followed from close range after a TMO review, setting up a nervous finish taking scoreline to 25-19 with nine minutes to go.

Despite sustained late pressure, Newcastle held firm in defence to close out the win and finally get their PREM campaign up and running.

Team line up:

Newcastle: Grayson; Wade, Hearle, Arnold, Obatoyinbo; Connon, Benitez Cruz; McCallum, McGuigan (capt), Palframan, Usher, Hodgson, Gordon, Christie, Leatherbarrow.

Reserves: Fletcher, Hancock, De Bruin, Baker, Mafi, Elliott, Chamberlain, Spencer.

Gloucester: C Atkinson; Cotgreave, Knight, S Atkinson (capt), Thorley; Byrne, Austin; Ruskin, Crane, Fasogbon, Thomas, Clark, Gwynne, Ludlow, Clement.

Reserves: Knowles, Knight, Ford-Robinson, Jordan, Venter, Price, Barton, Hathaway.