Gloucester vs Newcastle match report: Billy Burns leaves Falcons in a flap after crazy finish

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This was not precisely the dress rehearsal that Gloucester wanted before their European Challenge Cup final on Friday against Edinburgh, but they won. Given that, at one stage, they trailed by 17 points and were playing as poorly as they had played well against Exeter the previous weekend, that was no mean feat.

True, Gloucester will start a different XV against Edinburgh and will be concerned by injuries to Sione Kalamafoni, who limped off with leg damage, and Dan Murphy, knocked out only a minute after coming on. Jonny May also left early with a badly-cut mouth but is expected to be available and Gloucester needed the experience of their bench to pull this match out of the fire.

“You can’t coach character or spirit, we hung on and hung on to sneak a victory I’m not sure we deserved,” said Gloucester rugby director David Humphreys, who has also to face an RFU hearing tomorrow after fielding Mariano Galarza against Sale last month when the Argentinian was unregistered. “We knew we had to win to keep the momentum going into the final.”

The heart bled for Newcastle. They claimed a losing bonus point and a try bonus but a rare Premiership double eluded them as the game went into overtime, Billy Burns bobbing and weaving down the left wing to score the try that preserved Gloucester’s unbeaten 2015 home record.

Three first-half tries, the best of them built on a consummate pass by Ruki Tipuna that released Ally Hogg and then Sinoti Sinoti, demonstrated the confidence with which Newcastle face the future. The loss of Hogg with a rib injury became a critical factor as the game swung towards the home side in the final quarter.

Rory Clegg’s kicking kept Falcons’ noses in front and even when Dan Robson’s sharply-taken try stirred Gloucester hope, the visitors promptly worked Josh Furno over the line. But Henry Purdy’s dancing feet narrowed the gap to three points with eight minutes remaining and that time proved just enough.

Teams:

Gloucester: C Sharples; J May (J Hook, 9), B Macken (B Meakes, 53), B Twelvetrees (capt), H Purdy; B Burns, D Robson (G Laidlaw, 66); Y Thomas (D Murphy, 41-42), D Dawidiuk (R Hibbard, 41), S Puafisi (J Afoa, 41), E Stooke (T Savage 41), M Galarza, R Moriarty (Stooke, 46-51), M Kvesic, S Kalamafoni (G Evans, 25).

Newcastle: S Hammersley; A Tait, C Harris (A Powell, 34), J-P Socino, S Sinoti; R Clegg, R Tipuna (S Takalua, 74); R Vickers (E Fry, 63), S Lawson (G McGuigan, 73), K Brookes (J-P Orlandi 73), J Furno, K Thompson (W Witty, 78), M Wilson, W Welch (capt), A Hogg (S Robinson, 25).

Referee: I Tempest (Liverpool).