The Prem
Newcastle (5) 19
Tries: Ene, McGuigan, Jordan Cons: Connon, Henry
Leicester (17) 24
Tries: Moli, Radwan, Hurd Cons: Searle 3 Pens: Searle
Leicester Tigers picked up their first win of the season with a tense and hard-fought victory at Newcastle Red Bulls.
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Tigers → con → Bulls
Former Newcastle winger Adam Radwan scored on his return to Kingston Park as the Tigers won for the first time in seven matches in all competitions, following a dismal run which stretches back into last season.
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which → score → season
After being edged out by two points in a high-scoring thriller by Saracens six days ago, Leicester had to show their grit and determination to cling on to victory against a Newcastle side who threatened a late comeback.
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who → edge → comeback
Newcastle took the lead through Obi Ene's early score but, despite putting in a positive showing, they ultimately came up just short in their first home match of the season.
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they → take → season
Ene scored three minutes into his Prem debut after Newcastle moved the ball left.
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Newcastle → score → ball
The former Sale winger weaved inside, having collected fly-half Brett Connon's excellent cut-out pass, to dive over for the opener.
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winger → weave → opener
But Leicester hit back when hooker Samiuela Moli launched himself over at the back of a driving maul and Billy Searle popped over the conversion to give Tigers a slender advantage.
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Searle → hit → advantage
Gabriel Hamer-Webb had an opportunity to go over for Leicester soon after but was pushed into touch by an excellent try-saving tackle from Christian Wade, before Hamer-Webb made his own outstanding score-stopping challenge as Newcastle's Harrison Obatoyinbo threatened to break clear.
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Obatoyinbo → have → challenge
That moment proved to be pivotal as former Newcastle winger Radwan latched on to Freddie Steward's exquisite grubber kick to touch down.
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Radwan → prove → kick
After Searle kicked the conversion, the fly-half then added a penalty in front of the sticks.
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half → kick → sticks
Newcastle missed two presentable opportunities to score a second try before half-time and the match restarted in a scrappy manner after the break - until Ene was prevented from scoring a second try of the match thanks to a textbook challenge from Leicester replacement Will Wand.
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Ene → miss → Wand
Radwan spurned a good opportunity to score his second, kicking the ball dead when he had a whole half of the field to run into.
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he → spurn → field
Leicester were made to pay for their profligacy when George McGuigan's pick-and-go enabled him to drive over from close range to help pull the deficit back to five points.
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pick → make → points
Leicester got a vital third try of the night when Will Hurd's quick tap let him barrel over, and Searle kicked the conversion to make it a two-score game once more with 12 minutes remaining.
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it → get → minutes
Newcastle carved through Leicester with just under seven minutes left when Ollie Leatherbarrow's bold carry saw him break a tackle as Cameron Jordan went over with Zack Henry adding the extras.
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Henry → carve → extras
With the clock ticking down, Wade carried Newcastle forward with a trademark burst down the wing, but the home side were eventually guilty of holding on as Leicester gratefully kicked to touch to claim victory.
'We were not accurate enough' - reaction
Newcastle Red Bulls director of rugby Dan McFarland told BBC Radio Newcastle:
"I'm really disappointed, to be honest.
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I → tick → Radio
It was a game we could have won.
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we → win → ?
Really pleased with the way we approached the game.
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we → please → game
I thought we were full of effort, full of energy.
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we → think → energy
"Most importantly, we were full of the endeavour that we wanted to put in, in terms of the way we wanted to play the game.
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we → want → game
"Unfortunately, we were not accurate enough in key areas - but that will grow.
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that → grow → areas
We are trying not to play in a boring way.
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We → try → way
Today, we weren't where we wanted to be.
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we → want → ?
In the first half, we gave away penalties at set-piece and let them into our 22.
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we → give → 22
I thought we improved in that area as the game went on."
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game → think → area
Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling told BBC Radio Leicester:
"Gritty and dogged. Defensively, some good resolve and they're [Newcastle] going to break some teams this year with their quality attack and good speed.
"
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Newcastle → tell → attack
You go all pre-season and you try to build some real cohesion and you lose a lot of guys in the same position, but no excuses, we've just got to be better.
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we → go → position
I've got to help those guys to be able to execute in those moments.
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guys → get → moments
"Accuracy in the second half, especially at set-piece, we didn't allow ourselves to build up some pressure."
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ourselves → allow → pressure
The Aporia
