Aviva Premiership: Newcastle Falcons recover to beat Gloucester

Rory Clegg kicked 15 points to help Newcastle record a 20-10 Aviva Premiership victory over Gloucester at a wet and windy Kingston Park on Friday night.

The Falcons fly-half managed five penalties to make amends for his error in the opening minute that gifted a try to John Afoa.

However Gloucester struggled to cope with the conditions after such a stunning start, conceding a try themselves when Sinoti Sinoti crossed the whitewash for the home team.

Clegg made them pay with a clinical kicking performance, even if his first attempt at putting boot to ball resulted in his clearance being charged down by visiting skipper Matt Kvesic.

The block by the flanker allowed prop Afoa the opportunity to break the deadlock after 38 seconds, Billy Burns adding the conversion to make it 7-0.

There was a long delay early on when Charlie Sharples took a heavy blow to the head though fortunately he was able to walk off the field, Tom Isaacs coming on to take his place.

Clegg clipped the post with a 45-metre penalty in the eighth minute but did find his range almost immediately afterwards when Gloucester were punished for going off their feet again.

Collapsed scrum

The no 10 slotted over another attept following a collapsed scrum, while Mike Blair's darting run drew yet another penalty for offside to allow Clegg to edge the Falcons 9-7 ahead at half-time.

Still, Gloucester must have fancied their chances with the wind and rain at their backs in the second half.

Instead, though, it was more of the same. Clegg kicked a 42nd-minute penalty from 35 metres to make it a five-point advantage after the Cherry and Whites conceded yet another penalty at the breakdown.

Newcastle then took a real grip on proceedings when Juan Pablo Socino cut through. Ally Hogg rumbled on and then Clegg and Alex Tait set up Sinoti for a well-worked try in the 45th minute.

Burns was short with a long-range penalty shot for Gloucester, and their hopes of a comeback disappeared when former Newcastle skipper James Hudson was sin-binned for an off the ball tackle.

Clegg kicked the resulting penalty, making it a double-digit lead for the Falcons with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Burns hit the post with a penalty and Gloucester then took the decision to decline two kickable penalties late on, instead kicking for the corner in the hope of grabbing a try. In the end it proved the wrong option, Newcastle standing firm to record a welcome home success and also deny their rivals a losing bonus point.