Saracens glide past Falcons in Philadelphia

In the end it wasn’t quite the spectacle that was hoped for. The stifling humidity at Talen Energy Stadium sapped the life out of the game that saw numerous handling errors and was short on pace and continuity. A disappointing crowd of 6,271 was announced, far below the 18,000 capacity that was hoped for. While the two sides will have enjoyed their week abroad they will likely be keen to get on the first plane back to get ready for business as usual next weekend.

A promising opening, for Saracens anyway, came just short of eight minutes into the match when Chris Wyles went over from a set piece move off the training ground. The former Eagles skipper, playing as close to his Allentown home as he could ever imagine, skipped through the tap-tackle of Chris Harris after the Falcons first phase defense was found woefully wanting.

Despite owning virtually the entirety of possession and territory Saracens could not quite connect on another score and instead it was Vereniki Goneva who raced away against the run of play after Mark Wilson picked up an errant pass. Tane Takulua converted to draw the scores level.

That would be it for Newcastle, however, and largely the game. Owen Farrell was inch-perfect from the kicking tee and sent over five penalty goals before another Goneva intervention created another try. This time it was of the penalty variety after the big Fijian stuck out a palm to swat down a flat ball in scoring position. An early shower and seven points up for Saracens were the result.

JP Doyle’s final whistle was a relief after a dour second half that will be long forgotten before the patrons melt into the Philadelphia evening. It was a step towards building the game in America but a smaller one than what could have been. With the initiative to continue for the foreseeable future, greater consideration of the teams involved and perhaps time of year might be in order.

 

SCORING

NEWCASTLE 7
Tries – V. Goneva (25’)
Cons – T. Takulua 1/1 (26’)
Yellow cards – V. Goneva (74’)

SARACENS 29
Tries – C. Wyles (8’), Penalty try (74’)
Cons – O. Farrell 1/1 (9’)
Pens – O. Farrell 5/5 (32’, 40’, 45’, 51’, 57’)

 

TEAMS

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1 Rob Vickers, 2 Scott Lawson, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Calum Green, 5 Sean Robinson, 6 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (capt.), 8 Nili Latu, 9 Tane Takulua, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 12 Josh Matavesi, 13 Chris Harris, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 15 Simon Hammersley

Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Will Witty, 20 Allister Hogg, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Juan Pablo Socino, 23 Belisario Agulla

SARACENS
1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Juan Figallo, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Michael Rhodes, 7 Schalk Burger, 8 Billy Vunipola, 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Owen Farrell, 11 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt (capt.), 13 Marcelo Bosch, 14 Liam Williams, 15 Alex Goode

Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Kieran Longbottom, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Sean Maitland

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: JP Doyle (RFU)
Assistants: Dean Richards (RFU) & Paul Burton (RFU)
TMO: David Sainsbury (RFU)

Attendance: 6,271